Modern Magic
by Amber13
Summary: New opponents and devolopments in Kagome's magic. Plus your standard humor, action, angst, and romance maybe .
1. Default Chapter

Kagome sighed as she looked up at the old wooden seal which partially covered the well. "Of all the inconvenient places. . .", she huffed as she shoved her bike up over the edge of the well ". . . to stick a portal. . . " she grumbled as she followed the bike up over the edge, then collapsed exhausted and aching onto the cold, dirt floor of the shrine. But she couldn't stay in that position long, the hard floor was making her bruises ache even more, so she dragged herself up to a standing position and slowly walked out of the shrine towards her house, leaving her bike where she'd tossed it by the edge of the well. "A hot bath. All I want in the world is a hot bath" Kagome mentally chanted as she tried not to think too much of all the new cuts and bruises she'd picked up in the fight with the Thunder brothers. It did feel good to be home she realized as a breeze from the direction of the kitchen brought her the scent of Oken, her favorite food. And just when she was starting to think that this must be one of the most perfect places in the world, two arms grabbed her from behind.  
  
"AAAAAAAHHG", she screeched and jumped whirling around to face . . . an exuberant little brother!! =_=  
  
"Kagome, you're back!", Sota cried happily as he jumped into her un- outstretched arms.  
  
"Sota no BAKA, don't scare me like that!!" Kagome yelled, still nervous from the shock of being grabbed.  
  
"B-but I was j-just" Sota started to stutter.  
  
Oh great, I've been around Inuyasha so long I'm starting to act like him Kagome thought as she looked at her little brother's hurt and surprised face. "Sorry Sota", she tried to smile, but it was more like a grimace, "why don't you run tell mom I'll be here for dinner."  
  
"O.K., Kagome", Sota chirped, bright and cheerful once more, and looking excited.  
  
"In fact", Kagome thought, "much too excited to see me, I've only been gone a day or two, and hes never been like this before when I got back." Had something happened? Maybe mom got promoted, or I won that contest, or I got accepted in advance to that famous high school, or...  
  
"Where's that dog guy Kagome?" Sota blurted. "Come on, I mean you brought him back right? He's so COOL", Sota enthused, adding in a quieter undertone "not like that moony eyed Hojo"  
  
"Now why would I bring a weird looking, insensitive, egotistical, macho, uncaring JERK like Inuyasha back with me" Kagome yelled, in a knee jerk reaction to hearing his name (their last parting had not been pleasant). "Honestly, who would want HIM around", Kagome fumed as she stomped across the old wooden floors to her bedroom, quivering with indignance. "Bring Inuyasha home for a visit, HA!!!" she exclaimed as she dropped her heavy duty back-pack on the floor, and stalked toward the bathroom, promptly tripping over her math book-which must have dropped out of her bag when she was packing. "Oh NO, the math test!" Kagome groaned as she lay sprawled out on the floor. I didn't study at all while I was back with Inuyasha, she realized panic-stricken, I didn't even notice that the book wasn't in my bag, she wailed mentally. "But I will NOT fail another test!", she declared, pounding the floor for emphasis, then winced as the bruise she'd picked up from the thunder brother's mauling throbbed in objection to sudden, violent contact with the splintery, wooden floor. If I study all night, I can be ready for the test tomorrow, she tried to convince herself as she slowly pushed herself up off the floor, then bent to retrieve her math book. She walked over to her desk, thinking even more longingly of a hot bath as she calculated the volume of random spherical figures rotated around the x or y axis using both the Disk and Shell method.  
  
  
  
1 a.m. Monday  
  
"YES!!!"  
  
Kagome declared, standing triumphantly and bleary eyed, arm raised in victory over the math text.  
  
"I can calculate the volume of a region bounded by y=x^3-2x+1,x=3,y=0, and rotated around the x, y, or any other axis by using the disc or shell method, and I can calculate the volume of any object with cross sections of known area. I won't fail this time", she sang as she danced happily towards the bathroom (yeah, lets see how normal you are after studying Calculus till 1 in the morning, this narration comes from painful experience- although I don't have the excuse that I was off saving feudal Japan from rampaging Shikon Jewel-enhanced demons as a reason for not having studied)  
  
Kagome threw the door to her room open and stepped. . . into something soft and squishy??? "Huh?", she exclaimed as she looked down to where her bare foot stood planted in the center of a plate of Oken. By the plate was a note saying:  
  
Dear Kagome,  
  
Sota told me that you were back, but in a bad mood. When you didn't come down for dinner, I saved a portion for you, since I know how much you love Oken. But I saw that you were studying so hard and didn't want to disturb you, so I left it out here, if it's cold you can heat it up in the microwave.  
  
Love Mom:)  
  
P.S. We need to talk about this "dog-boy" you've been seeing.  
  
  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", Kagome wailed, falling to the floor in abject misery. "My Oken", she sobbed clenching the note between shaking fingers as her stomach growled.  
  
  
  
11 p.m. Sunday  
  
"How dare she leave!", Inuyasha growled as he lay sprawled apathetically in the crook of one of the lower branches of a tree overlooking the village. "How will we ever recover all the shards of the Shikon jewel if she runs home every chance she gets?" Inuyasha snarled, his voice rising with his irritation, attracting the attention of Myouga.  
  
"You're missing Kagome already?", the tactless old flea asked.  
  
"The jewel, baka, I was talking about the jewel", Inuyasha shouted as he stomped on Myouga, squishing the hapless flea-demon into the bark of the tree. "I don't care if Kagome leaves me", he declared crossing his arms stubbornly in front of him. "I just need her to get the jewel -that's it, just the jewel, I'm not interested in her at all"  
  
"When's Kagome getting back?", Shippou sighed from where he'd been sitting unobserved on a nearby branch. "I miss Kagome", he declared mournfully gazing in the direction of the well. "She's so beautiful", he rhapsodized. "her eyes are so . . . "  
  
Inuyasha started to turn a strange mottled color.  
  
"and her legs are so. . . "  
  
Inuyasha took a menacing step towards the love-struck young fox demon, who continued on.  
  
"and her body is so ..."  
  
"SHUT - UP", shouted Inuyasha as he brought his fist crashing down on Shippou's head, then delivered a kick to the demon's midsection that shunted it in a long arc into the depths of the forest which adjoined the village.  
  
The now restless Inuyasha paced up and down the branch, muttering invectives against Kagome in specific and humans in general.  
  
  
  
Roughly 2 hours later. . .  
  
"That's it" Inuyasha stated flatly as he jumped the fifteen feet from his pacing branch to the ground. "I'm not going to let Kagome's foolishness stop me from getting the Shikon jewel", Inuyasha declared ominously to the empty clearing in which the tree stood.  
  
Modern Japan  
  
Kagome sadly picked herself up off the floor, not even bothering to clean off her foot. She trudged wearily towards the bathroom leaving small, Oken- covered footprints in her wake. But Kagome couldn't stay depressed for long, not with the prospect of a nice long soak in a hot bath. She let the water run while she brushed her teeth, then reached in the cupboard for the therapeutic herbs Hojo had given her for her "rheumatism". She was always so sore and stiff after a trip through the well. This last one had been particularly bad. In addition to all the sleeping on the ground and peddling who knows how many miles over the rocky paths of feudal Japan she'd gotten tossed all over by the Thunder brothers . When she bent over to get the bath herbs out of the cupboard, every muscle twanged or groaned in protest. "And bathing in frigid streams didn't help either", Kagome thought as she added the herbs to her bath, smiling in anticipation as she envisioned relaxing for an hour or so in her hot bath, letting her muscles un-knot and soothing her bruises. . . But a sound in the hallway snapped her out of her musings. "Hmm, I would've though that mom and Sota were in bed by now" she thought as she undressed for her bath.  
  
Meanwhile. . .  
  
"Heh, stubborn and inflexible am I?", Inuyasha muttered flattening his ears in annoyance as he jumped out of the well in one smooth leap. "Man, she's really gonna owe me for this. . ." he continued as he walked out of the shrine which now covered the well. "After I accommodate her like this by coming to her time to search for the jewel shards she'll never be abler to complain about me again", he thought to himself smugly as he curiously poked at some metal cylinders that were attached to Kagome's house, perhaps they were some futuristic sort of ladder" Inuyasha theorized as he examined the cylinders. Trying his theory, he grabbed the cylinders and jumped up . . . and came crashing down into the bushes as the pipes he had grabbed buckled and broke under the pressure of his demon-enhanced strength. "Feh", he muttered, disgustedly tossing the broken off piping over his shoulder. "Humans make such inferior goods." Spotting an open window, Inuyasha decided to start looking for Kagome, or at least explore her strange house. Easily slipping in through an open window, Inuyasha observed that humans didn't make particularly safe houses either. The room was empty, but Kagome's scent still hung in the air and he could make out the outline of her backpack on the floor in the faint moonlight, must be the girl's room. "Figures", he grouched, "any normal person would be in bed at this time of night, but noooooo, Kagome has to make it difficult.". Going through what he assumed was a door, Inuyasha spotted a bowl of cold food, a crumpled up sheet of paper, and a trail of food smeared footprints. "What the?!?" he thought "They dip their feet in food when they leave a room?? Kagome never told me about that custom.", he followed the footprints down a narrow wooden hallway, mystified at the odd customs humans developed when left to their own devices for a few centuries. The footprints stopped at one of the odd "doors", "Kagome must be in there" Inuyasha Thought as he reached for the metal knob that opened the door.  
  
"Yeesh, doesn't anybody knock anymore?" Kagome thought in annoyance as she heard the knob turn and the door start to open. She turned, annoyed and ready to make some sort of sarcastic comment about privacy to Sota. .. .. and wound up nose to nose with a slack jawed Inuyasha. Kagome blushed a fiery red, screeched "SIT!!!", grabbed a towel, and jumped behind the shower curtain into the tub. And the shock of bare skin on frigid, icy water hit her like a brick wall. She screeched even louder, while waving her arms and legs frantically, trying to prevent herself from falling into the tub. But she only succeeded in knocking herself off balance. Kagome's screams were abruptly cut off as she fell, completely submerged into the icy water.  
  
"Unhhh", Inuyasha groaned as he picked himself up off the floor. "She better not have killed herself", he said, looking doubtfully down into the wroiling waters of the tub.  
  
"Prepare to DIE, Inuyasha!!", Kagome screamed, shooting up out of the water like some horrible demon, water streaming down her face, teeth chattering, and body shivering from the cold, but face steaming with the heat of her anger. Like a lobster-monster, really.  
  
Misinterpreting the cause of her anger, Inuyasha said, "calm down Kagome, I've seen you go through the water purification ritual before -so it's nothing new" He added with a bit of a smirk.  
  
"WHAT!!!?!"  
  
"I'm not interested in your body", Inuyasha reiterated, thinking he'd said it clearly enough the first time.  
  
"You break into my house, see me undressed, scare me into a tub of freezing water, and now you insult my figure!", Kagome growled her hands clenched tightly against her sides, her body shivering spasmodically.  
  
"Of course, the waters cold", Inuyasha said, frowning in confusion. "Why wouldn't it be? It's almost winter!! Why are you being so unreasonable Kagome? I came all this way, so you wouldn't have to stop looking for the shards, you should be grateful I. . . "  
  
"SIT!!!"  
  
"SIT sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit sit SIT", Kagome screamed. She spent the next 10 minutes reciting "sit" with a manic, evil, gleeful, grin on her face.  
  
Monday morning. . .  
  
"Oh. . . ", Kagome groaned as sunlight hit her face. "What a horrible dream", she thought as she blearily tried to focus on some weird ovally shape that hovered over her.  
  
"Hey Kagome, how come Inuyasha's doing sit-ups in our bathroom?"  
  
"Eh", she came awake with a start. Last night hadn't been a dream. Inuyasha was HERE. She groaned and covered her head with a pillow as further realization hit her. . . . and he's still doing "sits' in the bathroom! "He's going to kill me as soon as he finishes those sits", Kagome realized, and shot out of bed panicked. Jumping into her school clothes, and gathering her books, she grabbed Sota and ran out of the house in record time. As she reached the front door, she looked back towards the bathroom, feeling slightly guilty. She had overreacted last night, she really should apologize to him...but he'd be so mad... and she was so embarrassed about the whole episode..."I'll apologize when I get back, she decided, stepping outside. but still feeling guilty. She felt even worse when she stepped outside and saw who was sitting, playing with pipes (pipes?!?) on the lawn. Inuyasha. Darn it, why couldn't he have stayed in the bathroom a little bit longer? Kagome gulped as she stared at Inuyasha's silent figure sitting stone-still on her lawn, then cringed as Inuyasha slowly stood up and turned to face her. His back must be hurting him, Kagome realized, and cringed even more. "I'm sorry Inuyasha, I over-reacted last night", Kagome muttered while staring at Inuyasha's clawed feet, not daring to meet his eyes.  
  
"We're going back.", Inuyasha gritted out, wasting his most ferocious scowl on the top of Kagome's head. He'd tried being understanding, coming to Kagome's time so she could attend "school" (whatever that was). What did he gain for his consideration? Kagome thinking she could walk all over him! To hell with it, if she wasn't going to be reasonable, he didn't have to be either. They'd go back to his time, and stay there till they'd gathered all the shards of the Shikon jewel. Then and only then would he let Kagome return to her precious "school". His course of action decided upon, Inuyasha picked Kagome up, his arm around her midsection, and looked around for the shrine which housed the well.  
  
"I apologize, and he punishes me!", Kagome thought as she struggled furiously to get out of Inuyasha's powerful grip and back onto her feet.  
  
"You don't understand Inuyasha", Kagome reasoned, "I must go to school, my entire future depends on me going to school, and studying." No response. Kagome resorted to begging, "Please, Inuyasha as soon as the school week is over I'll come back and help you find the shards. But I'm begging you, don't ruin my life in this time."  
  
Inuyasha bit his lip, "Aaargh, she wasn't going to cry was she?"  
  
Unable to see Inuyasha's face, Kagome was becoming increasingly furious. "He didn't even bother to respond! He's not even listening!", an increasingly agitated Kagome realized. "I can't miss this math test or any more school" she thought with a mixture of panic and anger towards Inuyasha. "I have to get to school ", she resolved, looking around for something to free herself with. Her eyes fell upon the pipe that Inuyasha had been playing with, the *hot* water pipe. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling at all remorseful about last night. Already close to the ground from the uncomfortable way Inuyasha was carrying her, it wasn't much of a stretch for Kagome to reach down, grab the pipe, and before Inuyasha could notice what she was doing, bring it swinging (with as much force as she could muster from her awkward angle) into Inuyasha's stomach. The blow surprised Inuyasha more than it hurt him, but he loosened his grip just enough for Kagome to wriggle free. A rush of anger inspired adrenaline allowed Kagome to grab another, substantially larger pipe, and in one smooth motion slam it full force into Inuyasha's body, sending him flying way into the distance in an arc whose trajectory resembled that of Shippou's the previous night.  
  
"M-O-R-O-N", Inuyasha shouted at Kagome as his voice and figure slowly faded from view.  
  
Chapter 2 Is Kagome being stalked? Can Shippou and Myouga convince Inuyasha to protect Kagome before its too late? 


	2. Stalking

Chapter Two: Stalking  
  
Kagome sighed in relief as she darted though the school gates, right before they closed. As she ran to her class, she wondered if Sota had been as lucky. Once in her classroom, she plopped into her chair, exhausted from her extended sprint. Kagome had scarcely taken a deep breath before she was descended upon by a horde of female peers intent on discussing their favorite subject. Kagome mentally quailed in dread of the coming ordeal. Ever since Hojo had first given her those rheumatism sandals, every girlfriend she had had became obsessed with Hojo. She waited for the inevitable deluge of questions. . . Had they gone out yet?, Would they go to the same high school?, Didn't she love him?, etc.  
  
"Have you seen the new guy?"  
  
"Eh?" Kagome exclaimed in surprise. "He sure is exotic!"  
  
"I've never seen eyes like his before."  
  
"And so handsome!"  
  
"He doesn't talk much. . . "  
  
"Yeah, he seems kinda shy."  
  
"I wonder if he has a girlfriend?"  
  
"I heard he's German!"  
  
"Really? His Japanese is perfect!"  
  
"I used to have a boyfriend who looked like that. . . " "ohmigod!!"  
  
"hee, he's looking over at you, Kagome." "he likes Kagome?"  
  
"See how he's staring at her!"  
  
"It must be love at first sight"  
  
"sigh, how romantic"  
  
"oh no, but what about Hojo?"  
  
"He'll be so sad"  
  
"Kagome, how could you do this to Hojo?" "Poor, lonely, unattached Hojo . . . he needs someone to help him forget Kagome"  
  
"NO! Kagome would never betray their love like that! She'll stand by Hojo!"  
  
"But what about the new boy? She can't deny true love!" "They will both nobly resist their feelings for each other, and deny their fiery passion, for Hojo's sake!"  
  
"sigh, how romantic."  
  
Fortunately, class started and her over-imaginative friends returned to their seats. As the teacher started taking role, Kagome looked at the new guy out of the corner of her eyes. He was staring at her. Their eyes met and he smiled at her. Kagome blushed furiously and broke eye contact, gluing her eyes to the front of her desk to avoid further eye contact with him. Just what she didn't need, another guy interested in her. She sighed glumly. The teacher, after finishing the role, introduced the new boy as John Steinmann, a foreign exchange student from Germany.  
  
Three hours later,  
  
Kagome dropped her head to her desk and expelled her breath in a ragged sob. Arc lengths, how could she have forgotten to go over arc lengths when she was studying for her test? She hoped she'd still passed, but a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she hadn't. Kagome wasn't hungry, maybe she'd just stay in here during lunch, she wasn't in the mood to go to the cafeteria and let her friends pick up the conversation where they'd left off this morning. Kagome directed a morose look towards the clock, which un-obligingly was moving very slowly, what a horrible day.  
  
"Ahem," somebody cleared their throat behind her, well they didn't exactly clear their throat, it was more the polite noise to let somebody know you're in the room type of "ahem". "Were you planning on eating lunch?", the new guy, John that was his name, asked. Kagome looked around, the classroom was deserted he must have been waiting around for quite some time. "I haven't had the opportunity to tour the school yet, and I'm afraid I need some help finding the cafeteria," John continued, giving her a schoolboy grin (heck, he was a schoolboy).  
  
Unable to politely refuse, Kagome got up murmuring "Oh it's not far at all, come on I'll show you where it is."  
  
"Great," he exclaimed, grabbing her hand in his enthusiasm and running towards the door. "He jogged down the halls, pulling the unenthusiastic Kagome behind him." Gee, Kagome thought he sure doesn't seem to be having any trouble finding the cafeteria. "Come on," he chided her, turning his head and giving her a playful grin, "hurry up, I'm hungry". Kagome suffered herself to be dragged to the cafeteria, and ate lunch with John, all the while sneaking despairing looks at the clock while John single-handedly carried the conversation with Kagome nodding periodically and making polite noises of agreement at the proper intervals. What was wrong with her? Two months ago she would have been ecstatic to have someone like him showing interest in her. Of course two months ago she hadn't known Inuyasha. What???? How had that thought gotten there? No, she resolutely shoved the idea aside and tried to pay attention to John. Inuyasha had nothing to do with this.  
  
"How sweet that he's already walking her to lunch," sighed a starry eyed schoolgirl. "They're destined to be together," agreed her equally star-struck companion.  
  
And just outside the cafeteria window, behind the bushes, standing on tiptoe was what looked like a little boy....with a tail, a bug on his shoulder, and funny ears. The boy was straining to hear the girl's conversation, occasionally he would jump up and peer through the window.  
  
"Destined?", Shippou gulped. How had this happened? He'd thought Kagome was Inuyasha's woman. But she was betrothed to another? Oh cruel betrayal!! But no,-wait perhaps Kagome was being forced. Yes, forced into marriage! "Poor Kagome, I shall free you from this unholy union!", Shippou made a whispered declaration. Turning his head to direct a commanding gaze at Myoga, the flea demon who was perched on his shoulder he ordered. "Myoga, check the well for Inuyasha, I'll search for him at Kagome's house." "Hmph, I thought *you* were going to free Kagome from this 'unholy union' Myoga muttered at the already distant figure of Shippou.  
  
  
  
A short while later, at Kagome's house. . .  
  
"Oh," said a woman who must be Kagome's mother. She was dressed in worn clothes and her shining black hair was slightly disheveled. There were smile lines around her eyes, and laugh lines around her mouth, but just now she was giving Shippou an inscrutable look from below her delicately arched, but frowning eyebrows. "You're a friend of Kagome's, aren't you?", she said her voice decidedly cool.  
  
"Ah, I'm just looking for Inuyasha," Shippou replied, widening his eyes in a look of calculated innocence and edging away from the door. Kagome's mother nodded her head as if she'd come to a decision. She swung the old wooden door open wide and smiled tightly at the Kitsune. "Come in," she said bending down to grasp the fox kit firmly by the shoulder and pull him gently but surely into the house. Within moments, she'd dragged the confused Shippou across a dark, musty hall and into a warm, sunlit room full of strange objects. Shippou was so engrossed in looking around the room and trying to find something he recognized that he didn't hear Kagome's mother. ". . said, we need to talk," she reiterated, giving him a very stern look. The Kitsune realized with a start that he was ensconced in a soft/bouncy chair directly across from Kagome's mother who was staring at him intently, expecting an answer.  
  
"I, um, I'm just looking for Inuyasha," he stammered, squirming in the suddenly uncomfortable chair and staring at the warped wood of the floor, unable to look Kagome's mother in the eyes. What had just happened? Why was Kagome's mother mad at him? He'd never even met her before. Probably Inuyasha's fault the Kitsune decided, his child's face scowling at the mentally conjured image of the half-demon.  
  
"Yes, you've told me that. Repeatedly.", the mother said in her cool voice, "he's not here, but I wa-"  
  
"WellthenI'lljustkeeplooking,sorrytobotheryouBYE!", Shippou said, jumping out of his chair and making a rush for the door. A sudden tug from the vicinity of his tailbone stopped him in his tracks. The poor kitsune found himself hanging suspended in midair, Kagome's mother had an iron grip on his tail. She slowly raised Shippou until his eyes were on the same level as hers. "_Sit_down_and_listen!", she forcefully enunciated each word, he could feel her warm breath on his forehead. She dropped the Kitsune inelegantly back into the cushioned chair she'd seated him in only a few minutes before. Shippou clutched his head, wincing as his world reoriented itself. "I don't like having Kagome gone every weekend, holiday, and sometimes even school days. Her grades are dropping and we hardly see her any more. I especially don't like her putting herself in mortal danger fighting demons. -But I accept that it's necessary for her to do so" the mother said in a tone that did not sound particularly accepting "What I don't see the need for," her voice started rising, "is that dog boy coming uninvited to our house, in the middle of the night doing who knows what with Kagome in the bathroom!"  
  
"What?", Shippou squeaked, his vision going hazy. "Inuyasha took advantage of Kagome? That jerk! No wonder Kagome's gotten betrothed to that guy at her school. And to think I was coming here to warn him! This is unforgivable!" the brash Kitsune declared driving his balled fist into the soft material of the chair. "I will. . . "  
  
". . . Keep an eye on them," the mother finished his sentence. "Kagome's too young to be running around the country, unescorted for days on end with an attractive boy her age. I'd be crazy if I thought nothing would happen," she explained giving Shippou a troubled look. Shippou nodded his head in agreement, absentmindedly stroking the smooth fur of his tail. Yes, Kagome needed to be protected, he'd been wrong to try and help Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship. Indeed, he reasoned sadly, Kagome must be protected from Inuyasha's attentions as well. "Mrs. ah umm," he stared blankly at Kagome's mother, what was her name? Kagome's mother grinned broadly, the little lines around her eyes crinkling," Kagome never told you our last name? I'm Mrs. Higurashi." she said in a voice of barely suppressed, friendly laughter.  
  
"I would be honored to chaperone your daughter Mrs. Higurashi," the still serious Shippou declared in a firm voice, hands clenched, looking earnestly at Mrs. Higurashi. "I will protect her virtue with my life!"  
  
"My, what a dedicated friend you are, but I really just need you to keep an eye out, and let me know if things get a bit too serious," Mrs. Higurashi explained to Shippou, valiantly resisting the urge to laugh at an image of the cute little two foot tall kitsune facing legions of towering demons intent on harming her daughter. "Would you like to wait here till Kagome gets home from school?" she inquired in a friendly tone, then confessed with a rueful smile, "I have another request to make"  
  
"Anything!", the fox declared, his bright eyes shining with dedicated resolve, his voice almost shaking with fervency. He leaned towards her, eagerly anticipating her request, body quivering with anticipation. "Can I. . . can I. . . "  
  
The Kitsune leaned forward even more.  
  
Mrs. Higurashi blushed and clutched her hands together, eyes shyly lowered. "That is, would you. . ., would you let me. . . ", she reached a slim, elegant, un-ringed hand towards Shippou and looked entreatingly at him. " . . . touch your ears"  
  
THUMP  
  
Shippou had been leaning so far towards her he fell off the chair. "Oh, poor thing", Mrs. Higurashi commiserated, as she solicitously helped him up off the floor, grasping the back of his rough cotton tunic and setting him squarely on his feet. "They're just so cute" she enthused, no longer waiting for permission to poke at his delicate, triangular ears with their soft lining of downy fur, and tug (just a little) to see if they were really attached. Shippou flinched back, scowling and cupping his hands protectively over his sensitive ears. Mrs. Higurashi didn't even notice, she'd already shifted her attention to Shippou's long, silky tail. She was seized with this sudden impish desire to yank it, it was so soft, and fluffy, and cute, and well, yankable.  
  
  
  
Kagome looked nervously over her shoulder as she hurried home from school. She'd figured out what was so odd about John Steinmann. Well, maybe he wasn't odd. For a demon he was probably perfectly normal. For a demon. Kagome would have recognized him sooner, if she had been back in Inuyasha's time, but she just hadn't expected to find a demon in her time, not at school anyway. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. He's following me, Kagome thought, scanning the cracked, cement sidewalk and the near- empty street for some sign of him. Nothing. Kagome ducked into the doorway of a nearby store and flattened herself against it, peering sideways out the doorway and onto the street. She waited like that for a few minutes, ignoring the curious glances of the store's owner and customers. THERE! He was walking across the street. (singin' doo a diddy diddy dum diddy doo -sorry couldn't help it, I've been typing too long o.0)  
  
Common sense told Kagome that she should go get Inuyasha, fighting was his job after all. She was just supposed to find the jewel shards. But she didn't want to have to go through this morning's scene all over again, why couldn't Inuyasha understand how important school was? She'd have to take care of this herself, she decided, firming her jaw and preparing to slip back out onto the street. She waited until John turned a corner, then sprang out of the doorway and sprinted towards the corner he'd turned at. Breathing heavily, she peeked cautiously around the corner. There he was, sauntering down the street. He didn't appear to be looking for anyone, maybe I'm just overreacting, maybe this is the route he walks home from school. A part of Kagome's mind, the same part that said there just *couldn't* be demons in modern Japan, said. The thought didn't last long, a demon that just happened to appear at her school and just happened to walk home the same way she did, coincidence? Not likely. 'OK', she thought, pressing her back up to the rough bricks of the corner building, head turned, she could feel their gritty texture against her cheek. "count of five, I turn the corner and follow him at a distance. That should be enough time for him to get far enough ahead that he won't notice me behind him." "one", she clenched her hands, her palms slick with sweat. "Two", she unclenched them, and rubbed them nervously on the polyester-cotton blend of her school uniform's skirt.  
  
"Three", she picked nervously at the crumbling mortar between the bricks of the building.  
  
"Four", she gulped audibly, closed her eyes tightly, and prepared to leap around the corner.  
  
"Five!", She grabbed the sharp edge of the building with both hands, using it as a base to twist around the corner. Then, bending her elbows slightly to push off of it like a spring board, she vaulted around and past the corner. Kagome thereupon learned one of the essential rules for vaulting around corners, namely to look before you vault. She was headed face first toward a little boy. Kagome's nose crunched sickeningly into the top of the boy's head. They landed in a Gordian knot of tangled arms, legs, backpacks, etc. Kagome clutched her nose with both hands (and one of the boy's which seemed to be tangled with them) ohhhh, it throbbed, not just hurt, but throbbed, the sort of pain that doesn't go away and that you don't get used to. Kagome blinked rapidly and swallowed, trying to hold back the tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes. She swallowed blood, and felt blood pooling in her cupped hands, warm and sticky. "Eww", the boy beneath her complained trying to get out from underneath her "leggo of my hand."  
  
It took them several minutes to untangle themselves, with Kagome apologizing profusely, and the boy looking in disgust at his bloody hand. "I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, sorry", Kagome babbled, holding a handkerchief to her bloody nose and offering one to the boy for his hand. Then she looked down the street, there was no sign of John, so she turned to the boy who was busily scrubbing at the blood on his hand, muttering something derogatory about "girl cooties". "Did you pass a guy about my age in a school uniform when you were walking down the street?", Kagome grabbed his shoulders and looked earnestly into his eyes. His eyes were looking with horror at the blood Kagome was inadvertently smearing all over his sleeves. "With funky hair?"  
  
"Yes, that's him!"  
  
"He went straight that way, the boy said pointing to a street that led to one of the city parks.  
  
Good, she hadn't lost him "Thanks", she called sprinting in the direction the boy had pointed.  
  
  
  
Next chapter: the abduction of Kagome! 


	3. Abduction

Chapter Three: Abduction!  
  
John was stopping at a fruit vendor, his head lowered, scanning the crates of fruit. Good, he wasn't looking in her direction, she could make a run for it and catch up to him. Dashing to the fruit stand, she slid/skidded into hiding behind a stack of Kiwi crates. Breathing hard, she crouched in the shadow of the crates, she'd gouged her calf against the rough, splintery corners of one of the crates and small shiny drops of blood were starting to bead the raised welt. But Kagome ignored that, trying to get a better view of John and the fruit vender. What were they doing? The Kiwi crates were stacked too high, she could barely see the vendor and she couldn't see John. Crouching on hands and knees, she slowly crawled further towards the pair, to the slatted orange crates. She pressed her face to the rough wood of the crate, much better. Now she had a clear view of them both, and she was within hearing distance. Her eyes narrowed in triumph, and she grinned to herself, whatever plot these two had going, she'd stop them. Adrenaline sang through her veins, and she tightened her hands into fists, her fingernails leaving small crescent shaped cuts on the soft skin of her palms. She could handle this on her own, she didn't need Inuyasha.  
  
The fragrance of oranges was sweet in the air, sickly sweet. The oranges at the bottom of the crate were rotting, squished by the weight of the top oranges and covered with a fuzzy white and green mold. They oozed rotting pulp and sticky juice. It had trickled down the edges of the crates to puddle at their base where Kagome was crouching. Kagome was oblivious to the fact that she was kneeling in the stuff, it covered her hands, shoes, and legs where they were pressed into the pavement. She was concentrating too hard on John's conversation with the vendor to notice anything else. He was -- she cocked her head to catch the last couple of words- buying bananas?? Three pounds, fresh from Panama, a "real bargain."  
  
Kagome's head sank, and her shoulder's slumped. She became aware of her left calf which stung horribly from where the acid of the rotting oranges had rubbed into her already painful cut. John was leaving, jauntily swinging his purchase as he walked away from the fruit stand. Maybe she should just go home, she didn't think there was a single place on her body or dignity that wasn't bruised, cut, or sore.  
  
BAM  
  
*Kagome's pride hits her with a mallet*  
  
Kagome's pride: Snap out of it!!! Go follow him!!! Kagome: But it hurts!! And he's not doing anything!! Kagome's pride:*skeptical look* Yeah sure, Kagome, a demon that goes to junior high for fun. Your junior high as a matter of fact. OF COURSE HE'S UP TO SOMETHING!! *directs steely/angry look at Kagome* NOW MOVE! IKE!! -End mental dialogue  
  
Kagome sighed and stood up, stepping reluctantly in the direction of John's receding figure. But a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her, and jerked her back into the fruit stand. Kagome shrieked and whirled around. It was the fruit vendor. "Hey" he said in an irate voice "what do you think you're doing messin' around in my fruit stand?"  
  
"Um," Kagome stuttered trying to look innocent as she dripped orange juice. "Well?", the vender grabbed her shoulder and shook her, "I'm not having any little delinquents stealing from my stand -y'hear?"  
  
"I wasn't stealing!", Kagome blurted out angrily, then craned her head around looking in the direction John had headed. He was entering the park, she couldn't lose him, not after she'd gone though all this.  
  
"Well?", the vender shook her again, forcibly bringing her attention back to him.  
  
"I. . . I. . . lost my contact- and I was looking for it.", Kagome fibbed, face reddening as she made up a story. The fruit vender didn't look convinced, but he let her go, giving her a dark stare and shaking his fist and saying something about "better not come back here again, ya lousy little" But Kagome didn't catch much of it. The instant he let go of her shoulder, she bolted in the direction of the park. John had already disappeared behind its gates. "Please don't let me have lost him," she prayed, running past the scrolled iron bars of the park entrance gate, then skidding to a halt in the main clearing of the park. The empty main clearing. Oh there were trees, painted red benches, scraggly bushes, and even a few late birds, but no people, or any sign of them. The pathway was gravel, and there were no footprints in it. Darn it!! Kagome furiously kicked at a rock, it skidded across the path raising dust and bouncing off the gnarled trunk of an old, dormant oak tree. How could she have lost him? She kicked at a bigger rock, painfully stubbing her toe. It wasn't fair, she mentally cried, she'd tried so hard! This time she picked up the rock that had stubbed her toe, and heaved it as hard as she could at the oak tree. It made a satisfyingly loud thud, shaking the trunk and causing the tree's empty branches to clatter together noisily.  
  
"Hey," a voice from behind her protested, "what have you got against trees?"  
  
She knew that voice. Kagome slowly turned around, first her head, then her feet. He was here after all. He stood, illuminated in a patch of sunlight on the far side of the clearing. A loose bit of his long, wavy hair fell over his right eye, the rest was gathered up in a pony tail at the back of his neck. He was grinning at her, he looked gorgeous, standing straight and slim with one hand casually resting in his trouser pocket, the other resting loosely against his side. He was still wearing the dark blue school uniform that all boy's had to wear, but he managed to make it look elegant and dashing. Having caught Kagome's attention, his grin widened, became sinister. "Well," he said in a conversational tone, "fancy meeting you here." Kagome turned white with rage. The whole time. He'd been aware of her the whole time. "Why did you show up at my school? Why have you been following me?" Kagome demanded, her voice raw with anger, trembling from the barely suppressed urge to scream at him. How dare he toy with her! Her slim body stood tall, tense with outrage, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. She glared threateningly at him.  
  
"My what a curious mind you have," John said in a light voice, "do you always follow strange boys home from school?" he continued, stepping towards her.  
  
"Follow strange boys, how dare you!!," Kagome spluttered raising her hand high. She would have struck him, leaving an angry red palm print to mar his perfect face and wipe it of its annoying, triumphant grin. She would have. But before she could do more than raise it slightly in the air. John had grabbed her wrist, gently, his fingertips barely touching her skin. Nonetheless, his grasp was iron hard, he raised Kagome's wrist, forcing her to stand on tiptoe. Kagome fought, tugging at her wrist, but John was a demon, possessed of incredible strength. No human could escape from his grasp, much less a slender schoolgirl already tired from an eventful night and her recent attempt to follow him. John raised an eyebrow at her desperate attempts to free herself. He had not dropped his nonchalant pose, he was still standing, not a hair out of place, shaking his head slightly in a general remonstrance at Kagome's antics. "Come now," he teased, "this has been ridiculously easy up to this point, don't make it difficult now. I must confess, you're the first one who's ever followed me. And on the first day too! You have no idea how much trouble you've saved me. Normally, it takes at least a week to get my target alone someplace like this!" John beamed happily at Kagome who was looking at him with a horrified expression on her upturned face. Kagome's breath caught in her throat. "Run" her mind screamed, but she couldn't, her hand was caught, pinned in John's butterfly gentle grip. John's teeth glinted, white in the sun. He was grinning, cockily, triumphantly. He raised his hand to stroke her silky, smooth black hair and trace the delicate curve of her cheek, a mocking, insolent caress. Kagome flinched back, closing her eyes. No, she drew in a breadth. She had to escape, she had to run she must- something stung briefly at the back of her neck, a brief pain at the base of her neck, like an ant bite. Clapping her hand to the nape of her neck, she looked up at the suddenly taller and fuzzier figure of John. Her mind was getting fuzzier too. He had released her wrist, she was supposed to do something, what was she supposed to do? Her eyelids were so heavy, refusing to stay open. Her knees buckled, unable to bear her weight and she fell heavily to the ground. She was so tired, she needed to sleep. But no, she couldn't sleep, she had to remember! She tried to lift herself back up, pushing against the cold gravel and dirt of the path. She could barely raise her head, her hands and arms trembled in warning, unable to bear even that much weight, then collapsed, driving her face into the dirt, she could taste it, cold and dead on her tongue, her nose had started bleeding again, the blood warm and wet flowed sluggishly, gathering at the rise of her lip, then succumbing to gravity and dropping to the waiting ground, sinking into the dead grass and rocks leaving a dark red, almost black stain to mark its path. What was it that she had been trying so hard to remember? If she could just remember, then she could go to sleep. What? With an effort she forced her eyes open. Remember. She must remember. She stared at the pair of slightly dusty shoes that stood like rocks, inches from her nose. Run, that's what she was supposed to remember. Her eyelids fluttered, blurring her already furry vision. "Run," she whispered, her lips making grooves in the blood damp earth.  
  
John Steinmann stared down at the girl's prone form, he was seized with this inexplicable urge to run. This was getting boring, at first it had been amusing to toy with the human girls before he captured them, but this time it had just been boring. He hadn't had the heart to drag it out for more than a few minutes. The sharp coppery odor of the girl's blood permeated the air, he hated the smell of mortal blood, it stank. But under the smell of blood there was another scent. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs, something sweet, like honeysuckle and amber, like magic. Not the magic of the sleeping spell which had been on the knife he'd pricked the girl's neck with, that had long since evaporated - besides its smell had been different, cloying - like vanilla. He glanced with surprise and amusement at Kagome's still form. She had worked a spell! Very basic, but then she had been drugged and was completely untrained. She would be a very strong sorceress. Perhaps, his eyes narrowed in thought, stronger than his mistress, strong enough to break the enchantment that had bound him to the old crone's will for the past century? But, his brows puckered in a frown, he had to obey the crone's will, he had to take the girl to her - he couldn't directly defy the crone's orders. So he needed a hold over the girl, something that would guarantee her cooperation once her magic was strong enough. There was no way he could just talk her into lifting his enchantment. Not after he'd kidnapped her. But he couldn't just slap an enslavement spell on her like the crone had done to him. The crone would sense a spell like that immediately, remove it, and keep him on a tighter leash than ever. No, he thought looking at the blood dripping from the girl's face, hands, and knees. He needed something more . . . subtle, he thought as he made a small cut on his palm. Then, bending down he gripped Kagome's limp hand, and turned it over, palm up. There were already a few small cuts, but they had long since stopped bleeding. Carefully, with the tip of his knife, he made a matching incision on Kagome's palm. It blended in with the other slightly curved cuts she'd previously made with her own nails. "Heh," he chuckled "humans aren't the only ones who know magic" he whispered to himself as he pressed his hand to Kagome's, so that their cuts met and their blood mingled, chanting:  
  
"Blood bind you to me  
  
Till your magic set me free"  
  
There, it was finished. Short, maybe a little crude but vague enough that the crone shouldn't sense it, yet specific enough that eventually the girl would set him free. Already, the cinnamon scent of his magic was fading. The minute it was gone, he'd contact the crone, she'd be pleased at how quickly he'd captured Kagome. Maybe, he thought with a smile of anticipation, she'd even loosen his leash a bit.  
  
Next Chapter: Inuyasha to the rescue! 


	4. Rescue

Chapter Four: Inuyasha to the Rescue!  
  
Shippou slunk quietly into the dark room, slowly closing the door behind him, and wincing at the small click the door made as it closed. He scanned the quiet room, no recognizably human shapes. Slumping against the wall, he heaved a heartfelt sigh of relief. Safe. But for how long? The room was dark, that meant no windows, no way to escape. He was trapped.  
  
Back in Feudal Japan,  
  
"Kagome's what?" Inuyasha exclaimed, narrowing his yellow, slit-pupiled eyes in rage.  
  
"An interesting, if barbaric, human custom Lord Inuyasha." Myouga, the flea demon explained. He was thoroughly enjoying his role as messenger, he'd even embellished the story a bit to make it more fun. The way Lord Inuyasha's eyes had bugged out when he'd described Kagome's fiancé ardently clutching her to his chest as he passionately declared his undying love- hoo, it had been priceless! Happily, the flea demon continued his epilogue, "It can be observed quite often in the local village, generally a boy and a girl when they reach a certain age will choose a mate, making certain promises"  
  
"I KNOW WHAT MARRIAGE IS YOU DOLT!!", Inuyasha interrupted, angrily mooshing the flea demon between his thumb and forefinger. "You must go rescue her Lord", Myouga squeaked after recovering from Inuyasha's mooshing.  
  
"Why would she need my rescuing?" Inuyasha asked, crossing his arms and raising his white eyebrows disinterestedly. "Sounds like she and her lover are doing just fine.", he said as he started walking across the clearing (in the direction of the well.)  
  
"But," Myouga protested, "her fiancé is a demon." Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks, then in a lightning fast move, he grabbed the old flea, holding him trapped between two claws. "Explain.", he said shortly, raising the flea to eye level and glaring at him.  
  
"Well", the old flea gulped nervously, "he was disguised as a human, but it was only a surface illusion, to someone who's observed demons as long as I, the difference is easy to tell.", Myouga explained loftily. "And he's courting Kagome you say?", Inuyasha queried in a too calm voice, his eyes growing hard.  
  
The old flea nodded cautiously, sorry now that he'd embellished his story. Inuyasha would probably be very angry if he found out. Myouga quivered, foreseeing another mooshing in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Inuyasha's mind was racing. Kagome had a priestess's power, if she was affianced to this guy then she must know what he was. Kagome had betrayed him. No wonder she had reacted so strangely when he showed up last night, and again this morning. Inuyasha had a funny feeling in the bottom of his stomach, like it wasn't there. And his breath was catching at the back of his throat, expelled in ragged sobs. Sobs? Of course not!! Why should he mourn if Kagome had betrayed him? The deceitful wench. He snorted angrily. Let her take a lover! It didn't matter to him. The only thing that concerned him was the jewel shards. If Kagome and her lover wanted to live happily ever after, he didn't care. But first Kagome would surrender her shards and lead him to rest, if she and her demon lover thought they could cuckold him and gain the shards for themselves, he thought, smiling grimly and cracking his knuckles, then he had a surprise for them. Still clutching Myouga in his right hand, Inuyasha sprinted for the well.  
  
  
  
Back at Kagome's House,  
  
The room wasn't completely dark Shippou realized, in fact now that his eyes adjusted he could make out vague objects. Light was coming from somewhere and it wasn't under the door. Shippou combed the room with his eyes, where was the light coming from? Was it another one of those strange human devices, or, hope leapt in his breast, was it a window? Across the room. There were two patches of gray that were lighter than the rest. Shippou walked carefully across the length of the room, careful not to knock over anything, quiet as a whisper. He reached the other side, he'd made it safely. His heart was pounding madly, he slumped in relief, putting one hand against the wall to steady himself. "Please", he prayed "let it be a window". His breath fluttered, like the rapid wing strokes of a humming bird as he raised his trembling hand to that lighter patch of gray. It was material, heavy like sackcloth only not so rough. He grabbed a fistful of the stuff and pushed it aside. The room became noticeably brighter. There was still something covering the window though. He poked it, it clattered noisily. Shippou immediately dropped his hand and swung around to face the door. It didn't open. Maybe she hadn't heard. No, he shook his head slightly, he couldn't take that chance. He had to get out of here now, she might have heard him, he couldn't let himself be recaptured. He raised his hand protectively over his poor battered ears and clutched his battered tail at the thought. Shippou laid his small paw on the odd window covering. It was made out of smooth, flimsy grayish strips strung together by thin twine. He grabbed a handful of the strips firmly with both hands and, planting his feet to the floor, pulled as hard as he could. The covering broke free and fell to the floor with an immense crash. Sunlight streamed through the window. She had to have heard that. But it didn't matter, by the time she got here he'd be gone. The fox demon grinned in triumph and leapt for the window.  
  
*OOF *  
  
The little fox hit an invisible barrier and rebounded off of it, landing on the floor with a thump. "Ohh", he groaned as he staggered to his feet and hobbled to the window. Squinting, he glared at it, he couldn't see anything, what had stopped him? He tried to stick his hand through the window, and met something cold and hard. Glass?? They covered their windows with glass?!? What next? Diamonds in the rock garden? Shippou shook his head at the extravagance, to have so much glass that they covered their windows with it. . . He was snapped out of his awe by the sound of footsteps. She was coming. Grabbing a decorative bowl from the wooden table that he'd almost fallen on when he bounced off the window, he threw it as hard as he could through the center of the window hoping that humans didn't cover their windows with anything else. The glass spider webbed, then shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. The door burst open. Shippou leapt through the window, praying that there were no other coverings. Ignoring the shards that drove themselves into his pelt, the fox ran from the house sprinting for the well.  
  
  
  
At the well,  
  
Angrily, Inuyasha dragged himself out of the well. Myouga had wriggled free somewhere between the clearing and the well. Was Kagome's demon so fearful that the flea was unwilling to even be in the same time with it? Inuyasha growled in frustration at the flea's cowardice. Was everyone deserting him? Something broke through the shrubbery near the well. Inuyasha tensed, drawing Tetsusaiga, he hadn't expected to encounter Kagome and her lover so soon. Kagome, his eyes blurred, tears trying to escape. He swallowed them back, letting his anger take over instead, he may not have expected them so soon, but he was ready for the fight. Kagome would help him, and if her demon fiancé tried to prevent that, well. . , Inuyasha smiled cruelly he'd enjoy convincing him otherwise.  
  
"INUYASHA!!", Shippou cried happily jumping towards the welcome sight of the dog demon. Inuyasha jumped, and looked in surprise at Shippou. Who had he been expecting?  
  
"Feh, what are you doing here?", Inuyasha asked grumpily, catching Shippou by the collar before he could crash into him. "It was so horrible," Shippou declared, his eyes becoming haunted at the memory, "I was trapped in her house and she, she" he stuttered, his eyes misting as he rubbed his now bedraggled ears and looked woefully at his once beautiful tail.  
  
Inuyasha gasped in silent horror, Kagome had tortured Shippou. He couldn't believe it, Shippou was like a brother to Kagome, had she changed so much? "Kagome did this to you?" he asked, in a strangled voice, his hand clenched about the kitsune's collar.  
  
"Kagome?", Shippou looked at Inuyasha quizzically, "why would you say that? What does Kagome have to do with this? I thought you were rescuing her from that demon that was forcing his attentions on her. It was Mrs. Higurashi, her mother who, who", the Kitsune became incoherent again at the thought of those horrible hours. The kitsune was literally shaken out of his reverie as Inuyasha ungently jerked him around by the collar, stating "Kagome is *not* engaged then?" in a curiously soft voice, quite at odds with the rough way he was handling Shippou.  
  
"No, she isn't- that is I don't think she is, unless he's already forced - oh no Kagome!!!", the little fox wailed, sinking even deeper into despair. "What happened?" Inuyasha ground out, clutching the fox demon by his shoulders so tightly that the circulation to Shippou's arms started to cut off.  
  
"W-we followed Kagome's scent to what I think was her school, and when we l- looked in the window, she was eating lunch with a boy!"  
  
"That's it? She was eating lunch with him?" Inuyasha's voice held a slightly hysterical edge to it. "Not making passionate declarations of love?  
  
Not declaring their undying devotion?"  
  
"Err, no" Shippou gasped, trying to wriggle out of Inuyasha's iron grip. "I mean some girls by the window were saying something abut how they were destined for each other, but Mrs. Higurashi said that didn't mean anythin. . . but I wasn't sure, and you think that something's going on between them and I haven't seen Kagome come home yet and its late and. . . " the kitsune wailed, long heart-rending sobs, his body shuddering, tears streaming down his red face.  
  
Inuyasha had no idea what was going on. He looked awkwardly down at the sobbing little fox demon and realized he still had a death grip on Shippou's shoulders. He gently set Shippou down, and stared at him, completely at a loss. "Ah, errk", he made what he hoped were soothing noises and patted the little fox gingerly on the back. What was going on? Was Kagome engaged, was somebody chasing after Kagome, was this guy a demon, was he a boy, where was Kagome? What about this Mrs. Higurashi, Higurashi? That was Kagome's mom wasn't it? He vaguely remembered meeting her once, why did he associate her with ears? He searched for a connection, but couldn't find one. Oh well, he gave it up with a mental shrug. What was important was that she should know what was going on with Kagome. "Look, we'll go see Mrs. Higurashi and find out what's happening, where Kagome is", he said to the still sobbing Shippou, hoping to calm him down, he was totally unprepared for the Kitsune's reaction.  
  
"NO!!!", Shippou shrieked, and jumped at Inuyasha, hiding behind him and clutching at Inuyasha's legs as he shivered spasmodically. Peering up at Inuyasha from his perch on the back of Inuyasha's legs, face still wet with tears, and eyes wide with fear, he shuddered, "do NOT go near that woman!" "But we need to know whats happened to Kagome.", Inuyasha said flatly, rapidly becoming impatient with Shippou, shooting him an impatient/questioning look and trying unsuccessfully to walk with the fox demon locked around his legs.  
  
"NO!", Shippou repeated desperately, running in the opposite direction, "come on, she's probably still at school, lets go there!", he frantically proposed, not waiting to see if Inuyasha followed him, just running in the direction of the school. "*Someone* had better know what's happening," the very confused Inuyasha growled as he took off in pursuit of Shippou.  
  
A few leaps and he caught up easily to the little Kitsune. He kept stride with him for a bit, but soon became impatient with the little fox's considerably shorter pace. Grabbing Shippou by the back of his neck, he curtly ordered Shippou to ride on his shoulders. It was easy to follow the trail, Kagome's scent, both old and new was all over the place. She must've been up and down this route hundreds of times. There! Something caught his nose, Kagome's blood!! Alarmed, he jumped towards it, it was slightly off Kagome's normal trail. On a street corner, there were a couple of dark splotches, Kagome's blood. Her path diverged from there. The blood was dry, but the scent was fresh, today's. Blood, that indicated that wherever she was going, it probably wasn't willingly. Frowning fiercely, Inuyasha rushed along the road in a rapid, ground eating lope. He paused momentarily at a fruit stand where Kagome had paused, the owner was making some sort of weird motions with his hands, he stank of fear, Inuyasha ignored him. The trail from there was straight, it led to an enclosed forest. Why would they have a forest in the middle of a city? Humans were so odd. The scent stopped in the middle of a clearing, there was blood all over the ground where Kagome had stood, and the faint scents of fear, another demon, and something else, something that Inuyasha couldn't quite identify lingered in the air. "Where is she?", Shippou asked in a scared, quivery voice as he hopped off of Inuyasha's shoulder. "Her scent, it just, it just *ends.*" Magic, at least he was fairly sure that's what it was, he hadn't come into contact with real magic that often, and its scent was difficult to recognize since it generally mimicked the scent of other things. But there was no way that this dead forest was going to smell of vanilla and honeysuckle, and various other flowers. Not that it mattered, Kagome was gone. Next Chapter: Persuasion 


	5. Persuasion

Chapter Five: Persuasion  
  
"Uhnn," Kagome came awake slowly. Her mouth was dry, her teeth felt fuzzy when she brushed her tongue across them. She tried to swallow, bad idea. It felt like she'd rubbed sandpaper across her throat. Her eyes seemed to be gummed shut, she couldn't open them wider than a slit. She tried to raise her hand, to rub the stuff out of her eyes, but couldn't seem to raise it up from under the covers. The covers were very warm, and very soft, and it took so much effort to move, to think. With a tiny yawn, Kagome fell back asleep, snuggling deeper into the fluffy covers.  
  
"Wake up, wake up dear." Kagome blinked, trying to focus on the figure in front of her. Squinting, she stared, there was a wrinkled old lady, standing over her bed, smiling benevolently. But there was a pale, phantom image overlaying that of the old lady, that of a beautiful woman, slim with long silky hair and sculpted features. The image moved when the old lady moved, spoke when the old lady spoke, mirrored the old lady's moves exactly. Kagome felt a headache building at the corners of her temples.  
  
"Two?", she asked, waving vaguely at the double image, her question came out as a whisper, barely audible, from her dry throat. Abruptly, the phantom image disappeared.  
  
"Oh dear, I forgot I had that up," the old lady apologized, wiping Kagome's brow with a cool, wet cloth. "Just an old woman's vanity." the lady said in a breezy voice, with a dismissive wave of her hand.  
  
"Vanity?" Kagome echoed, frowning slightly in confusion. That was a mistake, her headache hit her full force, pounding at her forehead. "Don't do that dear. In fact, try not to move much at all. The sleep spell has some nasty side-effects." "Vanity?", Kagome persisted.  
  
The woman's lips tightened imperceptibly. Kagome wasn't sure she'd seen it. "Oh yes, just a little illusion, the way I used to look when I was young.", the old lady explained with a sweet smile. "Your priestess' abilities allowed you to see through it immediately, even in your present condition. Your abilities are so strong." she beamed happily at Kagome.  
  
"Priestess? Talents? How did you know? Who are you? Where am I?" Kagome's senses cleared abruptly, it was as if a fog had covered them. She sat up, struggling to throw the tangled covers from off of her. "You're safe, happy, warm cozy, you just want to rest" a voice seemed to whisper, buzzing in her ears. Kagome ignored it, pinning her gaze on the lady, she asked forcefully, "why did you bring me here?" The old woman's brows wrinkled slightly, the girl was recovering too quickly and the way she'd shrugged off the peace spell! Perhaps . . . perhaps the girl was too strong. Maybe she should just take her now, drain her energy, if the girl became more powerful, she could be a threat. No, her reason told her, she could control this girl, she'd done this dozens of times, she's just have to be a little bit more careful this time. Besides, the priestess talent was starting to die out. It had taken a couple of months to track this one down, she needed every drop she could get from this girl, even if it meant training her to dangerous levels. Pasting a grandmotherly smile on her face, she gently laid her hands on Kagome's shoulders, such firm young shoulders, murmuring, "don't get so upset dear, I brought you here to train you."  
  
"Train me?", Kagome jerked out of the old woman's arms. "You kidnapped me! You-"  
  
"Stop that!", the old woman ordered in a commanding voice, her small figure becoming suddenly imposing. She made a small gesture with her hand. "You. . " Kagome stuttered, and stopped. What had she been saying? Why had she been upset with this wonderful old lady? She looked just like the grandmother Kagome vaguely recalled from old memories and faded photographs.  
  
"There, there dear," the sweet old woman soothed in a gentle voice, "of course you're upset. It's naturally a bit of a shock. But isn't it wonderful? You're a priestess, a sorceress!" "But I already know," Kagome tried to explain. "Really? It's not surprising that you've discovered your abilities already, they're so strong. . . " the old woman gazed at Kagome, and the peaceful warm fuzzy feelings melted away under that stare, Kagome shuddered. The woman looked hungry. Then the old woman started, dropping her gaze to the bed and reached out to smooth the rumpled covers. Now why had Kagome been afraid of her? She was just a harmless old lady, the grandmother Kagome had never had. "You see, abilities like yours need to be trained, honed," the old woman explained, "you need to learn to control them."  
  
"Yes," Kagome agreed smiling, "I need to learn to control them." Learn. The word brought Kagome back. "No, I mean I need to learn, but not here. I need to go to school. I'm sorry grandmother, but I have to leave," Kagome said apologetically, looking around for a door, some kind of exit. The air felt close, a little voice in her mind whispered, "how could she leave this nice old lady, she was deserting her grandmother, being disobedient, she should stay."  
  
The old woman scowled darkly, this time it showed, turning her face into a hideous mask. The girl had broken through the spell. Again. She fingered her knife, hidden beneath the folds of her robe. If she couldn't persuade the girl to stay and learn, she'd have to settle for whatever power she could drain from the girl now. She didn't want to, she could get so much more power from the girl if the girl trained for a few months, exercising and expanding her magical abilities. But magical growth couldn't be forced. The participant had to be free of direct coercion, both physical and magical. Opening her mouth, the woman prepared one last entreaty, but if this didn't work . . . the woman's finger's tightened on the hilt of her knife. "I'm sorry."  
  
Kagome stopped her search for a door and focused back on the old lady. The sweet little woman's eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her lips trembled.  
  
"I didn't mean to disturb your life so much," the woman sniffed, and gazed woefully up at Kagome. "And if I'd had any idea how rough John was going to be, I never would have sent him. He was just supposed to ask you to come be my apprentice, but he does get carried away and," the woman's voice caught, "you really do need to be trained. Your abilities, if untrained can be a danger to everyone around you. I've made it my life's work to train young ones such as yourself. A few weeks, maybe a month, such a small price to pay for the safety of your family and loved ones. If you return now, untrained, with abilities as strong as yours, not knowing anything about them, it would only be a matter of time before something happened. Oh, it would seem like an accident, but it wouldn't be, not really. Haven't you ever wondered, why your family is so small, why so many have died? Your father, your grandmother? And even you? Don't you seem to pick up more bruises and cuts, more scrapes than other children your age?" Kagome gazed with horror at he old woman, a lump forming at the back of her throat. She had caused their deaths? Her abilities? They hadn't died till after she'd been born, and the accident that had caused her father's death, it had been so mysterious. Her father, her grandmother, had she killed them? Something pressed at Kagome's temples, something worse than a headache. It was indescribable, it pushed at her, accusing her. Her fault, all her fault. "Grandmother." Kagome's eyes teared, and she gulped, "father."  
  
"Che, now look what I've done," the old woman tskked. "Don't be so upset, their death's were probably perfectly normal. I just had to impress the importance of it on you, because there is always the possibility, even if it is highly unlikely."  
  
"Yes," Kagome agreed fervently, "I'm sorry, I had no idea. Please. Please let me stay here, and teach me how to control my abilities." "Of course dear," she released her hand from its hold on the knife hilt. That had been close. She'd have to tread very carefully with this one.  
  
John relaxed his stiff posture, rubbing at his neck. He'd had to get into an awkward position to see through the crack in the wall of the old crone's crumbling house. Magic would've been so much easier, but the crone's enchantment spell on him made it impossible for him to spy on her magically. It made it impossible for him to do a lot of things. After a century, he still hadn't gotten used to all the restrictions, all the bindings. He made a futile gesture of repudiation, he couldn't even touch the chain that encircled his neck, its delicate links binding him unbreakably to the crone's will. Unbreakable for him, but not for the girl. He smiled grimly, he'd been worried for a few moments that the old hag would play it safe, knife the girl and suck her magic then and there. But the crone hadn't, the girl had fallen for that ridiculous lie. The crone'd been doing this for centuries, she didn't believe that anyone was capable of defeating her. John grinned wolfishly, soon he'd be free. He'd kill the hag himself, crush her hollow yellowed, bones, dip his claws in her blood. Hang her with the chain she'd bound him with over a century ago. Death would catch up to the crone.  
  
Next chapter: Training 


	6. Training

Chapter Six: Training  
  
"Never", she whispered, her voice hoarse with wonder, "never have I in my three hundred years ever had a student who after fifty attempts couldn't cast a simple luck charm!!" Sighing in frustration, she crossed the clearing to where Kagome dispiritedly stared at an innocuous-looking stone about the size of her palm. "Concentrate," the crone instructed Kagome, pressing her wrinkled, papery hands into Kagome's shoulders.  
  
"I'm trying!" Kagome answered, her voice taut with strain. She directed a defeated look at the stone in front of her, feeling drained. Sweat drenched her forehead and her palms, dripping in sticky runnels down the back of her neck. Once again, she chanted the now familiar charm  
  
Small stone  
  
Fortune's home  
  
To bearer luck  
  
And peace.  
  
Then, with the tip of her outstretched finger she traced a sign for prosperity on the round river stone.  
  
"Did I do it?" Kagome asked the old lady, her teacher. No trace of enthusiasm was in her voice, it had all drained away hours ago. Now, there was only fatigue and frustration. "Is the enchantment there?" she asked again, but she already knew the answer. No, it wasn't there. Fifty-one times, by now the dratted thing should protect it's owner from getting wet in a rainstorm. Should. So far, it was just a rock. What was the matter with the girl? The crone wondered, frustration tightening her grip on Kagome's shoulders. The girl had talent, there's no way her reading could've been off, the crone thought as she tightened her grip even more. "Never", she whispered, "never have I in my three hundred years ever had a student who after fifty-one attempts couldn't cast a simple luck charm."  
  
John grinned and stretched lazily. It was a cloudy day. The sky was gray and moody, but a warm finger of sunlight shone though the cloud curtain, a perfect place to meditate and watch Kagome and the crone. An out of season apple fell from the branch of a tree across the clearing, and rolled thirty feet, to stop right by John's hand. It hadn't a speck of dirt on it. John was very lucky today. John's grin widened, he was enjoying this. Thanks to the blood bond he'd made with Kagome, he could redirect her spells to another target, himself. It was fun watching the hag try to contain her frustration, not that that was the only reason he was doing this, entertaining though that was. The crone killed her students once they reached a certain level, draining their energy to increase her own. He had to find a way to prolong the training process, to give Kagome enough time to learn, to increase her power to where she had a chance at defeating the crone, or at least breaking the slave spell that bound him. He'd stalled the lessons as much as he could, so far the slave spell that bound him to the crone's will hadn't interfered with his manipulation of Kagome's magic through their blood bond and he'd successfully interfered with the scrying, runes of protection/shield, and illusion lessons that the crone had been instructing Kagome in for the past week. The girl was starting to give out though, her luck spells were getting weaker. The scent of clover filled the air, Kagome was casting again. This time, John didn't redirect it, he let it be cast on the pebble she was practicing with. He had to do this carefully, he dint want the crone getting too frustrated, giving up and just draining Kagome nor did he want her spending the entire time just teaching the girl novice spells, if Kagome was going to have a chance, she'd have to learn some offensive magic.  
  
"Yatta!! I did it!!" Kagome jumped high into the air, making a weary victory sign and throwing her arms up.  
  
"Yes, you did it." her teacher repeated in a flat voice. Fifty-two times, and the stone now held a weak luck spell. With use it wouldn't last more than an hour, if left alone it would dissipate naturally within a day or so. How could this be? The crone ground her teeth with frustration, the girl was ripe with power. How could she be so inept at its use? At this rate it would take months to get her to level, months before the girl'd be ready for harvest, months of this.  
  
"Are you all right ma'am?" Kagome looked at her teacher in concern, there was a gray cast to her face, was she sick?  
  
"I think I have a headache dear, keep practicing, I'll just take a little nap." The crone forced a reassuring smile, and walked slowly to her cottage, she was feeling her age, her bones creaked in protest as she slowly crossed the clearing to her hut. She was too old for this, too old to be training inept pupils. Her door squeaked on its un-oiled hinges as she swung it open, it was old, like her. Kneeling down, she reached under the bed, pulling out an old carved ivory box. It had no apparent lid or keyholes. Chanting a rhyme for opening, she sketched an entrance rune over the top of the box, it glowed a pallid green in the dark room, then smoothly the lid slid off, falling silently onto the earthen floor. The box held little, an embroidered silk bag of herbs, a gold ewer, and a jeweled knife. The knife's blade was crusted with old blood, dried and flaking. Grasping the knife by its wire-wrapped hilt, and carefully not touching the blade, the crone drew her thumb in a caress over the winking rubies that adorned the edges of the hilt. They glimmered a fiery red, hungry. Patience. The old woman replaced the knife in the box, sliding the lid back over the top and tracing the rune of entrance backwards, locking it. This girl would be the last, once she'd sacrificed her, she'd have enough energy for the ritual. The ritual that could restore her youth, smooth her wrinkled skin, firm her sagging flesh, straighten her crooked limbs, shine her dulled hair, restore her lagging energy. Just a little more time, a little more training, the girl wouldn't have to be trained to the level she normally taught them, she was strong enough that she could be sacrificed much sooner. Only a few weeks more, maybe if she really pushed the girl, she'd be ready in a few days, maybe. Gently, the crone slid the box back under the bed and let down the covers, hiding all objects beneath the bed from view.  
  
Next Chapter: Alliances 


	7. Alliances

Chapter Seven: Alliances  
  
"Why have you been watching me?" the girl demanded angrily, her school uniform was rumpled and dirty, her hair slightly tangled and there were blue-violet smudges under her eyes, not that they showed any weariness, on the contrary they sparked with anger. "You did something when I tried to turn the stone into a good luck charm, I felt it. And you've interfered before, with other lessons, all those times, that was you!" the girl's hands were balled into angry fists at her sides, she looked as if she was barely restraining herself from hitting him. For a moment, John was speechless, utterly nonplussed. The girl knew he was a demon, capable of snapping her neck with no more difficulty than she would snap a brittle tree branch. Yet she deliberately confronted him alone, with no help close enough to interfere if he got violent. There wasn't a trace of fear on her. Her expression, her stance, her scent, they all betrayed anger, but not fear. Looking at her, John realized what a close call he had had. If she had gone to the crone first, instead of confronting him, any chance for freedom he had would've been destroyed, his face grew grave at the thought. There was no way to break a blood bond before its terms were completed, and the blood bond would taint Kagome's energy, making it and her useless to the crone. If the crone discovered that he'd cast a such a bond spell on Kagome, she would kill the girl outright, probably him as well. At the least she'd tighten the slave spell on him to the point where he couldn't so much as blink without her permission. But luckily she'd chosen to confront him instead. Yes, lucky wasn't it? He chuckled, the girl's luck spells were apparently *very* effective, he grinned down at the girl whose face was turning an interesting shade of red, maybe he'd keep her around after he offed the crone, it was an interesting thought.  
  
"You . . . you JERK!!! Stop laughing at me!" the girl yelled, raising an already clenched fist in a wild swing at him. It went wide, and she tripped, sprawling against John, her face buried into the folds of his shirt. John raised a hand to gently clasp her neck, trapping her there. He looked in the direction of the crone's hut, she hadn't heard, but he needed to take care of this situation where there wasn't any chance of the crone happening upon them. Even controlled by magic, luck was a chancy thing, he didn't dare depend on it for something as serious as this. The girl was trying to say something, but his shirt muffled her voice to an incoherent murmur of sound. Sweeping her feet out from under her, he picked her up, careful to keep her face pressed into his shirt where any sounds she made wouldn't be audible. He loped towards the quiet shelter of the forest which surrounded the crone's hovel, leaping quickly and lightly high into the branches of an old pine. The slave spell wouldn't let him go far, but at this height there was no chance of the crone inadvertently coming upon them. He released his hold on the girl's neck. She drew in a deep breath, sucking air into her lungs. Lightning fast, John clamped his hand over her mouth, just in time to silence what would have been a piercing shriek. Then, she saw where she was. Her eyes widened becoming very large, and she froze, stiff as a statue in his arms. Slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth, she let out a yelp, buried her face back into his shirt, and clung frantically to him, locking her arms around his chest. John frowned, he'd forgotten that most humans didn't react well to heights. He could easily pry her off him but he'd probably break a few of her bones in the process, humans were so fragile. Making his voice gentle, he requested, "please let go, it's safe. I won't let you fall." No response. He poked her shoulder uncertainly, "Umm, let go." No response. Urrg, this would take something drastic. Steeling himself, he swept her silky hair to one side of her neck, the other hand he splayed across her back, pressing her closer to him. Lowering his head, he whispered throatily into her ear, "there are more comfortable places to do this."  
  
Instantly, the girl let go of him and scooted as far away from him on the tree branch as she could manage. It wasn't that far, he was holding onto the back of her collar to make sure she didn't fall off the tree. She was blushing again and she eyed him as if he carried the plague. He gave her a predatory grin, she shrank even farther away from him. It was so much fun teasing her, but it was time to get serious. He needed the girl on his side, not looking as if she was contemplating jumping off of her four story high perch on the tree just to escape his company. Carefully drawing her back towards him, he said in a cajoling voice, "Kagome, I think we got started on the wrong foot.", she directed a significant look at his hand where it clasped her elbow, preventing her from moving away from him.  
  
"Yeah" she muttered, "you could definitely say that." He released her arm, looked like he wouldn't be able to charm her into helping him. Studying her, he decided that she was probably the type that would be most convinced by the direct approach. That really wasn't a bad thing, he realized with surprise, after two centuries of playing the charming young man to lure girls into the crone's clutches he was sick of that role. It felt good to actually tell the truth (or part of it), this one time. Leaning against the center of the tree, he started his explanation.  
  
"The hag isn't training you out of altruism. The stuff she told you about learning to control your power to make sure you didn't accidentally hurt someone was all lies. That's not the way magic works. The truth is, the crones been kidnapping girls like you for centuries, offering them false promises, power, wealth, beauty, whatever the girl has a weakness for, to persuade them to apprentice to her. Once their power reaches a certain level, once they come to a specific point in their studies, she conducts what she tells them is a ritual of ascension, after they complete it they'll be a full priestess, no longer an apprentice. Its the "last step" of their training. And it is the last step, of everything. What the ritual actually does, is drain their life and magical energy, killing them. The crone stores the energy in a magical knife she keeps hidden in her hut. I've only seen it when she performs the ceremony. The crone caught me by surprise a century ago, I was weak from a battle with another demon. I had passed out in a cave that I thought was safe while my wounds healed, when I woke up I had this around my neck" he gestured distastefully towards the necklace. "Normally, she would be no match for me." the anger and frustration in his voice were impossible to suppress. And the embarrassment! Being captured by a third-rate sorceress, and after a century he still hadn't escaped. "It prevents me from working any major or offensive spells and forces me to obey any order the crone gives me. With the right training though, you could break it."  
  
He stole a look at the girl, she was listening raptly to his story. There was no doubt in her voice when she stood up, hand against the tree's trunk for balance, declaring "We've got to stop her!! All those girl's lives!!" her eyes were bright, glistening with tears, as if she actually cared about the lives of those girls that she'd never met. Maybe she did, humans could be so odd sometimes.  
  
Kagome looked at John, she believed him. She couldn't explain why. She just had this feeling he was telling the truth, kind of like the way she'd known when he was messing with her spells. Sacrifice, Kagome's mind quivered in revulsion at the thought. How many innocent people had lost their lives to that woman? Which is why she stood up, declaring "We've got to stop her." and looking earnestly at John. She didn't ask why John hadn't tried to stop the crone before, she didn't think she *wanted* to know. At least he was willing to help her now. But, Kagome looked thoughtfully at John, could she free him, what's more did she even want to? In some ways he was as bad as the crone, what would he do once he was free? On the other hand, she really didn't have a choice, she couldn't defeat or even escape the crone without John's help. "OK," Kagome stuck her hand out, "I'll set you free, and you help me defeat the crone." John grinned at the girl and eagerly clasped the hand she offered. Perfect. He hadn't imagined it would be this easy, he knew that the blood bond would eventually force her to free him, but it was still in its early stages, at this point it probably had little, if any influence, on her decisions. Maybe it was the luck spells that had caused her to agree to help him, possibly it actually was the deaths of all those girls, the girl really did have a soft heart. Not that it really mattered, he thought, tightening his grip on her hand, his freedom was the only thing that really mattered. That and revenge, he could feel the crone's neck snapping between his hands, he'd be free and the crone dead, that's all that mattered. What was that whimpering sound? John was distracted from his dreams of revenge. It was the girl, she was trying to free her hand, evidently it wasn't the crone's neck he'd felt snapping John thought with amusement as he released his grip on her hand. It was mottled with bruises but it didn't look like anything was broken. He should probably apologize to the girl though, and be more careful, he didn't think she would back out now, but humans were odd, better safe than sorry. Besides, she wouldn't be able to fight if she got seriously injured.  
  
Kagome cradled her bruised hand, were other demons like this? She studied John from out of the corner of her eyes, he hadn't even blinked when he told her about all the other girls the crone had sacrificed, didn't seem bothered at all by the role that he'd played in their deaths by kidnapping them. How could he not care? Was this the way Inuyasha felt about humans? Kagome shivered.  
  
  
  
Kagome knocked lightly on the door to the crone's hut, it swung open under her touch, creaking loudly. The crone was kneeling by the bed, smoothing the covers, but she looked up as Kagome entered. "I feel so much better after that nap.", she declared, smiling brightly at Kagome. "I think we should try to finish the next lesson before tonight - Oh! what happened to your hand?" The crone broke off, looking in concern at Kagome's slightly swollen right hand. "You've really smashed it up, " she exclaimed, running her fingers over it lightly, checking gently to make sure there were no fractures. "How did this happen?" she frowned sternly at Kagome "your hands are essential for casting spells, you can't afford to let them get injured."  
  
"I. . . ahh . . . dropped a rock on it." Kagome fibbed, feeling her face flame red like it always did when she made something up. "But I can still move it, it hasn't affected my dexterity at all," Kagome hastened to reassure her, tracing a rune in the air to prove her point, or trying to, she didn't seem to be able to fully extend her index finger, or to clench the other fingers closed, her bruises twinged warningly when she even tried.  
  
"Fine, eh?" the crone smiled wryly and led Kagome to a chair. "On second thought, I think I'll postpone our lesson for tonight and have you study out of one of the old books. But first," the crone muttered something and traced a sign on Kagome's palm. The bruises abruptly stopped hurting. "There," the crone gave Kagome a motherly smile. It made her realize how much she missed her own mother. It had been a month now, she must be so worried. . . . "Your hand should be completely healed by morning. We can resume our lessons then. In the meantime, don't use your hand at all. Just study this," she said, thumping a ragged old book down on the table in front of Kagome. Kagome looked at it, curiously prodding at the pages with her good hand, was that parchment? "Well, I'll leave you to your studies now dear, I'm getting low on some herbs, I might not be back before morning, be sure to take it easy with your hand." The old lady reminded Kagome, then left, closing the door quietly behind her. Kagome stared after her, she seemed so nice, and John was so awful, maybe she'd made a mistake? Oh well, she opened the book with a sigh, she wouldn't worry about that tonight, tonight she'd study.  
  
Toothache remedies, wart cures, blessings for new homes, more good luck charms, Kagome disinterestedly flipped though the pages. It read like a cook book! Stuff grandpa would probably love. I wonder if they think I'm back in feudal Japan with Inuyasha, Kagome thought, her mind drifting as she scanned through more pages, petty curses and a recipe for preparing demon liver. Is Inuyasha even looking for me?, she wondered morosely. After that last argument maybe he'd decided to search for the shards on his own, did he even know she was missing? Love spells. The title caught Kagome's eye, maybe. . .  
  
THUMP  
  
What?!? Kagome jumped guiltily and looked up. There was a second book on the table now, older than the one she was looking at, but also in better condition. The black leather cover was smooth and uncracked, and the pages were crisp, a creamy yellow in color. "Study this." John instructed her, snapping shut the book she'd been studying out of and tossing it contemptuously to the floor. There's nothing good in that book, half of it isn't even magic." Kagome looked curiously at John, he was pacing the room nervously, he appeared to be very upset. I wonder if he's read the recipe for demon liver, Kagome mused, watching John pace the perimeter of the room for the fourth time. He looked up, caught her watching him, "Stop gawking at me and study!" he exploded, pounding the black book for emphasis. Kagome eyed it distastefully. It seemed to suck in light, the area around the book was dark, and a rotting smell emanated from it although the book itself looked to be in perfect condition. "There's no time to be squeamish!" John shouted, noticing the look she directed at the tome. Opening the book, he shoved it under Kagome's nose, his hands were trembling slightly. "Do you know what she's doing?" John asked abruptly, knocking the book aside he grabbed Kagome's shoulders and shook her.  
  
Cautiously, Kagome replied, "Yeah, she's gathering herbs." She tried to keep her expression calm, and she surreptitiously edged away from John. She didn't know him that well, but he'd always been so self-possessed and confident, even when he was acting. It was scary seeing him lose his self- control.  
  
"Idiot!" John muttered fiercely, glaring at her and growling incomprehensibly under his breath. "She's gathering herbs all right, Blutstamm, the key ingredient for the sacrificial ceremony. It's the only fresh ingredient the ceremony requires, but it loses its potency within 48 hours of being harvested. That means you have at the most two days to learn enough offensive magic to defeat a sorceress who's been practicing it for two hundred years!" John stared at her as if he could impress the urgency of the situation into her mind.  
  
"But, you'll be helping me right?" Kagome looked uncertainly at John, there was no way she could defeat the crone in a magical duel, she had to have John's help. "I thought you wanted to be free, I can't beat her without your help." She shook her head in confusion, "wasn't that the plan all along, for us to fight together against her?"  
  
John looked like he was about to cry, either that or scream. He reached for a gold chain that hung around his neck, but dropped his hand before it reached the necklace. "I can't help you," he stated, his voice flat, "The crone's slave spell won't even let me within a yard of her. It not only binds me to her will, it prevents me from physically attacking her. It's loose now, but if she wanted she could freeze me with a thought. Physically, she has complete control over me. Originally, I'd hoped to have you break the slave spell, but I can't find the counter spell for it anywhere and we've run out of time." John stared dully at the desk, "an eternity of servitude." He whispered, his fingers digging gouges in the already battered table.  
  
"Hey, don't worry," Kagome tried to reassure him "I'll defeat the crone and that'll free you. It's our deal remember?" Kagome tentatively patted his shoulder and gave him a cheerful smile. John shot her a despairing look and buried his face in his hands "sure" his voice dripped with sarcasm "a girl who's too squeamish to learn a single destructive spell is going to defeat a sorceress who has spent the last couple of centuries specializing in them, you'll forgive me if I'm not reassured.", he drawled, seeming to regain some of his composure. Kagome swallowed, she'd forgotten about the book. It was repulsive, but what alternative did she have? If she didn't learn the spells, she'd be dead within two days. And, Kagome thought, opening the book, she didn't have to learn all of them, she could avoid the really bad ones. Finally, the girl was studying. Not that it was likely to do much good, John thought bitterly as he slipped out of the hut. The girl might be stronger than the witch, but two days simply couldn't compare to two centuries of study.  
  
Meanwhile, in a moonlit clearing several miles from the hut.  
  
The crone smiled to herself as she filled her basket with the red-veined, fleshy leaves of the Blutstamm. She didn't know why it hadn't occurred to her earlier, she must be going senile. The girl hadn't developed enough energy yet to satisfy the requirements for the youth spell, but if she sacrificed the girl AND the demon, then there'd be enough energy, more than enough. She'd finally be able to gain immortal youth, it wouldn't be just an illusion, it would be reality. It was time to get rid of the demon anyway, slave spell or not, demons were dangerous to have around, if he found a way to escape he would kill her. It was pure luck that she'd managed to trap him in the first place, it would never happen again. Humming an old tune, she moved to another clearing that held the Blutstamm, it had taken two centuries and who knows how many sacrifices, but finally it was within her grasp, immortality.  
  
Next chapter: Death and Betrayal 


	8. Death

Prologue --- This takes place two weeks before chapter 8, during the time Kagome is training with the crone.  
  
"She's probably laying dead somewhere in an alley." Shippou moaned, head and tail hanging dejectedly. "Or maybe after she was kidnapped they sold her into slavery, aren't maidens supposed to fetch a high price?" Inuyasha ignored him. "Or maybe even now she's gravely injured, her life barely hanging on by a thread. Waiting helplessly somewhere, wondering why nobody has rescued her. Or maybe."  
  
"Shut up" Inuyasha growled, pounding the kitsune into the ground with one blow.  
  
"Oww, you didn't have to do that." Shippou whimpered gingerly touching the sore spot on his head that was rapidly turning into a lump.  
  
"I shouldn't've let you come at all" Inuyasha muttered as he dragged the semi-conscious fox demon along at a bruising pace. "It's not like you're helping." They were in the mountains now, they'd been working steadily inland the past two weeks, searching for some sign of Kagome. So far, nothing. He was assuming that whoever had kidnapped her had magic of some sort. There had been the scent of a demon in the park where Kagome was abducted, but also the scent of magic, human magic and demon magic. While Inuyasha hadn't found any trace of Kagome since the clearing where she'd disappeared, he had found the trail of the demon who'd abducted her. The trail was very old, and difficult to follow, but it seemed to be leading towards a particular group of mountains. "You sure you don't want to ask Mrs. Higurashi for help again?" Shippou laughed and barely avoided the punch Inuyasha aimed in his direction.  
  
"Hey, don't be so upset, it was your idea in the first place!" Shippou reminded Inuyasha. "I warned you, no I begged you, but noooo, you had to go see her." Inuyasha's teeth and hands clenched, Shippou had been like this for the past two weeks. 'I will not hit him, Kagome likes him,' Inuyasha repeated to himself over and over. "I told you that I'd been there and she didn't know any more than I did but you insisted that we check. You know, it's your fault this happened. It's your fault Kagome's missing. If you hadn't left-  
  
THUD  
  
Inuyasha decked Shippou. Restraint wasn't Inuyasha's strong point. Finally, silence. Over the past two weeks he'd learned the exact place to hit to knock the little kitsune out instantly. If he wasn't sure that Kagome would never speak to him again (much less help him recover the Shikon jewel) he would've done a lot more than that. Inuyasha inhaled deeply, and sifted through the scents. There were so many strong, recent ones that overlaid the demon scent he was looking for. At least it was distinctive or he'd never be able to find it. The farther back he followed the demon's scent, the fainter it got.  
  
Which meant that the demon that had kidnapped Kagome had gone out that way, but he hadn't come back along the same route. But there had been no returning trail from the clearing where Kagome had been kidnapped, which meant that the demon had either changed/erased his AND Kagome's scents or they'd used some other form of transport. Magic maybe or some strange human contraption. He'd meant to ask Mrs. Higurashi about that, but everything besides getting out alive again had slipped his mind after he'd entered Mrs. Higurashi's house. Fortunately, the little brother had met him outside Kagome's house/shrine and told them what little he knew. Which was... There'd been a new boy in school that day, he'd gone missing the same time as Kagome and there was no human invention that the boy knew of that could transport Kagome and the demon without leaving some sort of track/scent. So it probably was magic. This old scent-trail was the only clue he had to Kagome's location, he'd have to follow it and pray it didn't disappear before it reached its source. And there he'd find Kagome, or someone he could torture into telling him where Kagome was. Someone to torture at least, he needed that. Two weeks of worrying about Kagome and traveling with Shippou and his nerves were as taught as wire.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8: Death and Betrayal  
  
The crone trudged wearily up the hill. Her shallow straw basket was heaped to overflowing with the reddish Blutstamm leaves. Her joints creaked alarmingly with every step, the human body simply wasn't built to last for two hundred some-odd years. She lost track of the exact number 240 something, it didn't really matter at this point. Old was old. Anti-aging spells could only slow the process, not stop it, and even they weren't working anymore. Living was a torment, arthritis, gout, deafness, cataracts, running sores, osteoporosis, but that would all end soon. Soon, the crone grinned, her yellowed teeth were almost the same shade as her wizened, wrinkled skin. Soon she would be young again, young forever. She trundled up the hill with renewed energy, her body might be falling apart, but her spirit was eternal, and soon she'd have a body to match. A beautiful, lithe young body that would never age, never sicken, and that could recover from any injury. The crone cackled, a harsh sound, wild like the cawing of crows, she'd outlast them all!  
  
The dim light of a lantern gleamed faintly from the shadowy interior of the hut. The girl must still be studying, how diligent. So many young people were lazy these days. The girl was such a hardworking student, despite the inexplicable difficulties she was having casting spells, she could be a great priestess. With her power level and dedication and with the proper training she could reach the same levels as the ancient priestesses of so many centuries ago. As it was, she'd make an excellent sacrifice. Her power combined with the demon's, and all the other sacrifices of the past two centuries would ensure that the youthening ritual was successful. The door squeaked noisily on its rusted hinges as she swung it open, the girl sat huddled over her book, fervently scanning the pages, but she looked up when the crone entered.  
  
"Oh! You're back," the girl exclaimed running her hand through her hair nervously "I though you'd be gone the whole night?"  
  
"No dear, luckily the herbs I needed were closer to the cabin than I had thought, it didn't take long to harvest enough for the ritual." The girl's eyes widened at the word "ritual." "Don't be alarmed dear," the crone hastened to reassure her. "It's time for your ascension ritual, the ritual that grants you the powers and abilities of a priestess."  
  
"Bu-but I'm not ready!" the girl protested, panic in her voice. "We're still in the middle of my lessons. I've barely learned anything! Please, can't we wait till I'm ready, till I've learned a little bit more?" she clasped her hands and gazed pleadingly at the crone.  
  
"I'm sorry dear," the crone took the girl's hands in hers and with a gentle smile explained, "but you are ready, you're not trying to learn everything, remember? Just enough to control your abilities so they don't harm anyone else, and you've done that. I think I can safely promise you that you don't need to worry about harming anyone with your powers ever again." The girl gulped and stared at the crone. "Besides, I thought that you'd be happy to leave early, your family must be so worried about you, surely you're eager to return to them?" Kagome continued to stare wordlessly at the crone, there was no way she could refuse, not without making the crone suspicious.  
  
"Now," the crone continued, "we must prepare you for the ritual of ascension. It's conducted at sunset on a night with a new moon. But before you can undergo the ritual of ascension, you must be pure. Tomorrow morning you will undergo the ritual of purification, then spend the afternoon in meditation while I prepare the ceremony. Now, it's important that you get plenty of sleep tonight so that you're in proper condition for the ritual tomorrow evening."  
  
Kagome lay in her bed staring up into the darkness. How could she possibly sleep? In less than 24 hours she was going to be sacrificed. There was no way she could defeat the crone before then, not without John's help. She nervously crumpled the blanket under her fingers, wait!! John had said he couldn't help, because of the slave spell, and there had been that chain around his neck, maybe it was just a stronger version of the subduing spell that bound Inuyasha? If it was, maybe she could-"  
  
"Poor dear, too excited to sleep?" the crone murmured, interrupting Kagome's thoughts. It was so dark, she hadn't noticed the crone approaching her bed. "Here," she reached down to stroke Kagome's brow. Kagome struggled not to flinch in revulsion from the crone's clammy, wrinkled fingers. "Let me help. We can't have you tired during the ritual after all," the crone said while she traced patterns on Kagome's skin. And she was tired Kagome realized, very, very tired, in fact she couldn't keep her eyes open.  
  
The cloying smell of vanilla drifted from out from one of the cabin's windows. The crone must've cast a sleep spell on the girl. John wasn't worried that the crone was suspicious, she always cast sleep spells on her students the night before the ritual. The problem was what the spell signified. They were out of time. The girl would have to attack the crone tomorrow even if she didn't have a chance. If she went through the "ascension ritual" the crone would discover the blood bond, that'd mean a slow painful death for him as well as the girl, the crone didn't like surprises. Yes, the girl would attack the crone, he'd force her if necessary.  
  
Early the next morning. . .  
  
"There you go dear," the crone chirped as she handed Kagome a rough terry cloth towel, an herb-scented cake of soap, and a pristine set of priestess robes. "Now you're sure you won't need assistance during the purification ritual?" the crone asked for the third time.  
  
"No," Kagome grabbed the bathing implements from the crone's hands and gave her a tight smile. "I think I can take a bath on my own," she reassured the crone, a sarcastic tone creeping into her voice. "Besides, you need to get everything ready for the ritual tonight, you don't have time to help me!" she called the last sentence over her shoulder as she dashed towards the glade that held the spring, leaving the crone staring disapprovingly at her retreating figure.  
  
"Brr," Kagome shivered, her teeth chattering as she submerged herself in the freezing water. There were no hot springs nearby, and this one was probably ice melt from farther up the mountain, it was *very* cold. It was early spring, and the air was still fairly cold. She wasn't supposed to know any fire spells, so she'd have to endure the freezing water, with the crone less than a mile away, the woman would sense it if Kagome tried to use a fire spell to heat the water. "Mmm," she sighed once her body became accustomed to the cold water and she was able to start enjoying the sensation of being thoroughly clean for the first time in a month. She vigorously soaped up and rinsed her hair, she hadn't had many opportunities for a real bath during the past month of training, and it felt so good to be clean, the water felt almost warm now.  
  
Finally, the girl was alone. John silently stepped into the glade where she was performing the purification ritual. For a moment there, it had appeared that the crone would insist upon assisting the girl. It was imperative that the sacrifice be thoroughly clean for the ritual, otherwise the life-force would be tainted. Originally, there'd been problems persuading the girls to undergo the purification ritual, and the crone had strictly supervised the cleansing. But the last fifty years or so, the girls had seemed to actually enjoy the ritual, and the crone had started letting them undergo the ritual without supervision. The girl appeared to be finished, why didn't she get out? Had she decided that death by hypothermia was better than facing the crone? John waited impatiently for a moment, but she showed no signs of leaving the spring. "You don't have all day!" he finally growled from where he stood a few feet away from the edge of the spring.  
  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK"  
  
John heard a shrill scream at the same time that a boulder the size of his head came hurtling at him too fast to avoid.  
  
"Ohh," John groaned and tentatively touched the painful lump on his forehead that was already healing. He hadn't know that humans could move that fast, the girl had amazing reflexes. He was stretched out flat on the ground, the boulder was now on his stomach where the girl had dropped it after she got out of the spring. Now, modestly covered with a towel, she was kicking him repeatedly in the ribs calling him various insulting names, "pervert" came up most often. He really should stop her before she actually managed to do some damage, John thought hazily still a bit dazed from the initial blow to his head. What a violent girl! Were they all like that these days? Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, John jumped up into a nearby tree branch, dislodging the boulder from his stomach and narrowly avoiding a kick from the girl. Her bare foot impacted with the boulder instead. John winced at the solid thunk sound of impact, that had to hurt, especially for a human. The girl was getting ready to launch the boulder at him again, the situation was definitely getting out of hand.  
  
Roughly an hour and many bruises later. . .  
  
"So you want me to challenge her now?" Kagome asked incredulously as she sat, looking every inch the virgin sacrifice in her white priestess robes, on a flat rock near the stream, towel drying her hair. John shrugged carelessly.  
  
"Since there's no way to free me you might as well challenge her now, while she's concentrating on preparing the ritual. Perhaps it'll give you the advantage of surprise.  
  
Kagome scowled blackly, it didn't matter how much of a surprise advantage she had, there was no way she could defeat the crone. If she wanted to live, she had only one option, free John. She gulped nervously, Kaede had shown her how to cast and remove the type of subdue spell that held Inuyasha. The one on John looked to be basically the same thing, just a lot stronger. She could break it, but it would require a lot of magical energy. She would have very little if any magical power left for at least a day afterwards. But if she freed John every human that he killed because he was free to do so would be her fault. But at the same time, if she didn't kill him then the crone would sacrifice her and become immortal. Every death that she caused would also be indirectly Kagome's fault, and wasn't an immortal witch with the crone's powers much more dangerous than a demon? Besides, the world had survived demons for untold centuries. So it was the powerful, immortal evil she didn't know or the not-quite as powerful, almost immortal, callous, but maybe not completely evil, evil she did know. "What if I free you?" Kagome asked, feeling like she had made the wrong choice. But both choices were wrong choices, it was a no-win situation.  
  
"Free me?" John went deathly still and pinned Kagome with a hopeful stare, but it only lasted a moment. "Feh," he stated, his voice thick with scorn, "we've been over that already, you can't free me I couldn't find the spell that would break the slave enchantment that holds me. You'll just have to face the crone on your own," he concluded, tilting his head and folding his arms in a stance that reminded Kagome eerily of Inuyasha.  
  
"No," Kagome said quietly but emphatically, "I can free you. An old lady I met once showed me how to break that type of spell, the one she used was a lot simpler, but it's the same type of spell, I'm fairly sure I can break it." What?? John's jaw dropped in astonishment, this entire time she'd had the ability to break the spell?! He could've been free a month ago. His fingers clenched in futile rage, the urge to strangle the girl was overpowering, but he wouldn't not now anyway, not until she'd freed him. "Then," he caught her hand and looked soulfully into her dark brown eyes "you can free me now, you don't need to get involved past that. Once free, I can easily stop the crone. We can end the killing now!"  
  
End the killing, suuuure yeah, I believe you Kagome thought as she stared skeptically up at John and tried to tug her hand free. Did he honestly expect her to fall for that? "Err," she interrupted his monologue gently, "I need my hand for the ritual."  
  
"Of course," John dropped her hand faster than she could blink. Human flesh, mentally he shuddered with revulsion, it was so soft and weak, she'd die so easily.  
  
"Lay your head down over here," Kagome indicated the flat rock she'd been sitting on. "It won't take longer than ten or fifteen minutes, maybe even half that, it all depends," she explained, her eyes distant with thought, as if she were puzzling something out. "I should be able to finish before the crone notices and makes it over here though." Carefully, John laid himself down on the cold stone. "Ready?" the girl asked as she bent down to pull the gold chain that circled his neck to one side.  
  
"Yes," John nodded and drew in a deep breath, soon, very soon now. The girl slowly chanted the syllable of a breaking spell as she traced the corresponding runes in the air above him, they shimmered gold in the air, barely perceptible in the bright sunlight. A smell like burnt sugar filled the air. John smiled in anticipation, careful not to so much as twitch lest he disrupt the ritual.  
  
The girl had finished chanting, but the ritual wasn't complete yet, he wasn't free yet, the chain still bound him. She was stepping away, moving towards the forest. John tensed, was something wrong? Why was she leaving? He heard her footsteps, quiet in the new spring grass, returning. She stood over him, a boulder (probably the same one from earlier this morning) held high above her head. A boulder, John might not be an expert on human magic, but he knew that there weren't any spells that required large rocks to cast them. John gulped, surely she wasn't still upset about him interrupting her purification ritual? John's eyes were glued to the rock, he couldn't move, literally, if he disrupted the girl's spell at this point the backlash would kill him, so this kind of spell included a fail-safe that paralyzed its subject. He could move his facial muscles but that was about it. The girl brought the rock crashing down towards him, John closed his eyes.  
  
Great, Kagome though as she lifted the rock a second time, the crone would have to bind him with a metal chain. It was a good thing gold was soft or she'd never be able to break it. John looked really pale, and he had his eyes squinched shut. Really!! Did he think her aim was that bad? Kagome though indignantly as she repeatedly pounded a rapidly thinning link of the chain. She had to hurry, the crone would've noticed her spell casting by now, and she didn't want to even think about what would happen if she didn't break this chain before the crone got here. "You can open your eyes," she told John, "I'm almost done. I've finished the spell part but as long as the chain stays around your neck all she has to do is say a few words of subduing and you'll be trapped again. It's almost done," she brought the stone down again, the metal finally parted. "Finished" she stated, grabbing the chain and tossing it into the stream.  
  
"No," John rose to his feet and caught the chain in one fluid motion. "I have a use for it," he explained with a fierce grin as he bounded towards the crone's hut.  
  
He has a use for it. I don't even *want* to know Kagome though as she buried her face dejectedly in her hands. John was free, apparently he could easily kill the crone once he was free of the slave spell. And she'd just loosed another demon upon the world. Kagome felt sick to her stomach. But maybe, she thought, digging into her huge backpack for some twine, she could still salvage the situation. She knotted the twine into a circle and started the incantation, she had just enough magic left to complete it. If she could get this on John, she could bind him. It wouldn't be anything that would take away his freedom, just something like he couldn't kill any humans, or had to obey a certain code or something.  
  
John loped towards the hut. He could smell the crone, rotting and foul. She was heading towards the clearing where the girl had freed him as fast as her creaking bones would let her, too late!! She was too late to prevent his freedom, and now she would die. The crone's eyes widened when she saw him and the chain he dangled so casually from his left hand, his fingers clinking the delicate links together so that they chimed softly in the silent clearing. She reeked with fear. Two centuries, it had been a long time coming, and he would enjoy this. He felt the crone gather her magical energies inward, a metallic smell filled the air, she meant to attack him? Lightning ripped the sky as the crone gestured violently. A huge bolt tore through the heavens with a crash, striking John. He laughed, already his body was healing from the damage, adrenaline pumped through his veins. Desperately, the crone gestured again, too late. John had crossed the clearing, he slashed the crone across her midsection, feeling her warm blood on his claws, it was the first time human blood had ever smelled sweet to him. He grabbed the crone by her neck, crushing her windpipe so she couldn't speak. Slowly, he lifted her up to eye level, tilting her face towards his. Her mouth hung open, exposing her rotting stumps of teeth as she gasped for breath. Smiling sweetly, his perfect white teeth and youthful face illuminated by the frequent crashes of lightning. "Alte," he whispered her name, "now you die." and he tightened his grip on her neck. It snapped easily.  
  
  
  
A lightning storm appeared out of nowhere covering up the bright morning sun and scattering a few drops of rain. The fight must've started Kagome realized as she headed towards the center of the storm, the makeshift necklace clutched in her hands. She could barely see, the sun didn't penetrate the clouds at all, it was almost as dark as night. It didn't take her long to reach the clearing. Something was hanging from a low lying tree branch, swinging slightly in the breeze. A flash of lightning illuminated the clearing for a few brief seconds, but long enough to see what hung from the chain. It was the crone, the gold chain encircled her neck, hanging her from the tree. Her white bloodless face rested at an unnatural angle, her mouth gaped open, showing her tongue thick and swollen, it looked like a slug. Her stomach was ripped open, entrails mixed with the tattered bloody rags of her dress. Blood thick and viscous trickled from the gash in her stomach, down her legs, then dropped in a widening puddle on the ground a few feet beneath her. Then darkness covered the clearing again. Kagome gagged, dropping the rope necklace as she covered her mouth with both hands and sank to her knees. She'd never grown used to death, it was even harder since she'd actually known the crone. What if it was all a lie, what if the crone had just been a kindly old woman trying to help fledgling priestesses learn how to develop their powers? She closed her eyes and swallowed a sob. She fiercely blinked the tears out of her eyes as she searched the ground for the dropped necklace. She wouldn't break down and cry, she couldn't afford to, she had to find John and get the necklace on him, if she could. She was more helpless than the crone, she'd exhausted all her magical powers. What was to prevent John from killing her as easily as he'd killed the crone? She found the twine necklace only a few feet away, just as her hands closed on its rough, slightly hairy surface she felt a presence enter the clearing. John. "So," his voice was as cool and clear as mountain snowmelt. "I'm to go from one master to another? Now that the crone's dead you think to take her place?"  
  
"No!" Kagome blurted out hastily in denial "I just - It's just that," she stammered, "I freed you, and I have to make sure that you can't hurt or kill any innocent people that you couldn't've hurt if you hadn't been free," she explained in a rush, her head lowered. Why did she even bother to explain, there was no way he'd ever willingly agree to be bound again.  
  
"So, if you want to prevent me from harming innocents" John asked, walking slowly towards her, "why don't you just kill me? Wouldn't that be the simplest solution? Why enslave me?"  
  
"I'm not enslaving *anyone*," Kagome enunciated, looking him straight in the eyes. "The enchantment doesn't have to work that way. It's true it can be used to enslave someone, but there are other versions. I can cast it so that it will only prevent you from harming innocent people."  
  
"I have a different idea." John smiled beautifully, his expression angelic. "Lets," his hands moved faster than Kagome's eyes could follow "play a game." Kagome felt something rough around her neck, John's fingers pulled the twine tight around her throat so that if fit like a choker. He spoke a few words in a language Kagome couldn't understand, but she could see the spells symbols glowing in the air as he spoke them, along with an accompanying tightening feeling, like she was being bound. "The game is cat and mouse," he purred in her ear, putting a finger beneath her chin and tilting it so that their faces almost touched. "I hunt, you hide. Very simple isn't it? If I catch you, I kill you. Or maybe. . ." he leaned in so that their lips were almost touching, she could feel his breath, warm as it touched her mouth, like a caress. " . . . maybe I'll have a slave," he drew his thumb slowly across her cheek, "I've already bound the necklace to you, you can't take it off any more than I could take mine off. If you escape, it'll fall off on its own at sunrise. If I catch you, just a few words and you're a slave like I was, or maybe I'll just kill you, I haven't decided yet," he confessed with a lazy grin. Kagome stood, still as a statue, her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open in shock. "You know," John put one long finger under her jaw and gently brought her jaw back up. "I'd start running now if I were you."  
  
Next chapter: Blood and rain 


	9. Blood and Rain

Chapter Nine: Blood and Rain  
  
"Perfect," Inuyasha muttered, "it's raining." He stared broodingly at the path that half an hour ago had been so clear. It wouldn't wash away, but it'd be a lot harder to follow, especially since tonight was the new moon and his enhanced senses were already starting to fade to those of a human. "C'mon" he growled, turning his head to look up at Shippou who had taken shelter from the rain in the leafy branches of the nearest tree the instant the first few stinging drops had made moist, dark splotches on the forest floor. "But it's raining!" Shippou complained, clinging tightly to the trunk of the tree and refusing to be budged. "What happened to "I shall not rest until Kagome is found!???" Inuyasha growled as he tried to drag Shippou away from the tree. "Kagome wouldn't want us to ruin our health looking for her!" Shippou shouted, lower lip thrust forward in a definite pout, as he clung even tighter to the trunk of the tree.  
  
  
  
Kagome gasped for breath; rain beat against her skin. At first, it had been pleasant, cooling her overheated body. Now she was completely soaked and colder than she could ever remember being. It was probably early afternoon, she'd been running steadily since she'd left the clearing, but so far she'd found no trace of civilization, no possible source of aid. I can't keep this up, she thought, trying to control her breathing. I don't even know if I've been running in a straight line, she realized. For all she knew, she'd wasted the past four hours running in circles. She hadn't seen or sensed John the entire time, but how long before he started tracking her? She thought she could probably detect his aura if he were within a mile or so of her. Not that it would do much good, if he got that close there was no way she could escape. She opened her mouth, gasping for breath and trying to suppress the hysterical sobs that would be so easy to give in to. Tears gathered at the edges of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks, indistinguishable from the rain. She ignored them; she had to run. The mud pulled at her feet as if trying to stop her, with each step it became harder to pull her other foot up. She'd lost a shoe somewhere, she wasn't sure where. The rain was sheeting down now, biting, stinging, and icy cold. Sporadic shivers racked her body, and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs. The rain curtained everything, she couldn't see a thing in front of her, or maybe her eyes were closed, she couldn't tell at this point. Her right foot caught on something, a rock. She couldn't keep her balance, and the momentum of her run propelled her forward at the same time that the foot caught by the rock held her back. She fell, and a stabbing pain shot through her right ankle. For the first few minutes, she just lay there, catching her breath. Once she could breathe again, she pushed herself up to her knees, she was covered in mud now, she'd been cold before, but now she was just numb. She struggled to her feet, but when she tried to stand on her right food, a searing pain shot through that leg, and Kagome gasped, eyes wide at the pain. She sank back to her knees, head hanging in dejection. She couldn't think, every part of her except her right ankle was numb. She knew she had to go forward though. She crawled, her pace achingly slow, until her shoulder smashed into a tree. It hurt for a moment, but not long, thankfully her sense of pain was deadened along with her other senses. She rested against the tree for a moment, just a moment she promised herself. She was so tired, if she could just rest for a moment. . .  
  
  
  
The little log hut stood tranquilly in the middle of the clearing, an old shield spell prevented rain from falling on it. John barely restrained himself from ripping off the aged wooden door that sagged so pathetically on its hinges. Carefully, he pushed the door open, waited to see if anything happened, then stepped in. No traps so far, he wouldn't put it past the hag to set magical traps that activated at her death, she'd been a vicious old bat. But then the cow hadn't ever believed that she'd die either, so maybe she  
  
hadn't set any traps. He tentatively walked farther into the hut. Nothing happened. Good, that would make his job that much easier. The books came first, carelessly he swept them off the shelves and into a large heap on the floor. The herbs too, he pulled  
  
bunches down from where they hung drying in the rafters. He emptied drawers of bottles and vials that contained various oils, essences, distilled liquids, anything that pertained to magic. Then, he came to the bed, innocuous enough but there was storage room underneath it. He picked it up, breaking the headboard and footboard to make sure that they contained no hidden hollows or secret compartments. Nothing, they were just what they seemed, but underneath the bed . . .  
  
. . .a box, small and intricately carved and, he discovered as he tried to open it, warded. The warding spell recoiled with a blinding flash of light and a painful jolt of energy. It would've killed a human. As it was, John ignored the pain and ripped the box apart with his claws. Its contents clattered to the floor. There was a small golden ewer, its soft metal scratched by its fall. Trash. John kicked it into the large heap on the floor. A small, silk bag, John tore it open. Crushed herbs fell to the floor, scenting the air with their pungent fragrance. He didn't even bother gathering them up and tossing them onto the pile. That left one last item, a knife. The knife. John held the blade up, letting the lamplight play along its edges. The ruby gleamed hypnotically with a light all its own. The thing fairly pulsed with energy. Instead of fascination, John looked at it with distaste. It held the life energy of dozens of girls, two centuries of sacrifices. The crone had devoted the past two centuries, most of her life, to storing enough energy in it to complete an immortality ritual. That fact alone made John want to destroy it.   
  
Unfortunately, this sort of thing was rather difficult to destroy. The blade would have to be melted and mixed with other, counter metals. Iron perhaps. And the ruby would have to be crushed to a fine powder, divided into four equal parts, and then scattered to the four winds. There were many other ceremonies and rituals involved. Overall, a very tedious and time-consuming process. John scowled and tucked the thing into his belt. He'd have to destroy it later. One good fire should take care of the rest though. John ripped up the books, they'd make good kindling and he wanted to make sure that every page burned. Satisfied that everything, every scrap of spell-book, all the magical ingredients and implements and everything else that could possibly be used by humans for magic was in the pile. John picked up the lamp from where it stood on the shelf  
  
and tossed it into the center of the pile. The books and dried herbs caught fire immediately, the glass smoked, turned gray, and cracked, and the metal instruments warped. Satisfied that nothing of use remained, John left the hut, this time ripping the door off its rusted hinges and tossing it onto the bonfire. Soon the whole hut was engulfed in flames, the shield spell was still in effect, so the fire blazed bright, untouched by the rain that fell all around it. John glanced at the sky, the clouds hid the sun, but it felt like mid or early afternoon. It had taken longer than he'd thought it would to  
  
ransack the cabin, but he'd done it properly, soon every trace of the crone's existence would be gone, destroyed. Now, it was time to hunt down the girl.  
  
  
  
Shippou was still hugging a tree somewhere, good riddance to the coward. He'd find Kagome while Shippou was still hugging the stupid tree, trying to keep his pelt dry. The slightly acrid odor of smoke jolted Inuyasha out of his thoughts, something was burning in the distance, the unmistakable smell of smoke tinged the air, barely detectable at first under the rain, but growing stronger. He was growing closer, but it was also growing stronger. The demon's scent was everywhere, then, he caught it. Slight, but like the smoke unmistakable. Kagome's scent. Recent, not more than a few days old. She was alive! He was going the right way, the tight feeling that had been building up and threatening to snap for the past six weeks dissolved. Relief surged through him. The most recent scent led in the same direction that the smoke seemed to originate from.   
  
The ground had turned into swamp, he had to place his feet carefully, or else his steps would push him ankle-deep into the mud. He seemed to glide across the ground, ghost-like in the misty, rainy valley with the dark mountains looming over him. He crossed a  
  
stream, its normally quiet waters rushed rapidly and noisily, starting to overflow its banks. Kagome's scent was very fresh here, so was the demon's. They'd both been here today. Under the strong, earthy scent of the rain and the acrid smell of smoke, he thought  
  
he could almost detect a faintly metallic odor, magic? He didn't stay to analyze it, although his mind worried over it. Kagome, a demon, and magic. She was alive, thank god, but after six weeks with them, what condition would she be in? But she was  
  
alive, at least she was alive. He was following a path now, it broke out of the forest and into a clearing. An old human woman's body hung from a tree. There was a dark patch, already fading, underneath it, where the blood mixed with rainwater was slowly being  
  
absorbed by the earth. The rain was coming down in sheets now, driven by the wind. The body swung slightly to and fro. The scents diverged here, the demon's scent went in the direction of the smoke, and Kagome's went in the opposite direction. Rain, earth,  
  
smoke, blood, ozone, and magic. The six strong smells blended dizzyingly, Inuyasha couldn't pick out which person was associated with which scent. Someone had cast magic, which probably summoned the lightning, which would account for the ozone smell. The old woman's body obviously hadn't been hit by lightning. So very likely  
  
she or Kagome had summoned the lightning. Inuyasha examined the woman's body more closely, it was difficult to be certain of anything, but the slash wound in her stomach could have easily been made by a demon's claws. So the old woman had been killed by the demon. Magic had been used to summon lightning, probably to attempt to stop the demon. It obviously hadn't worked. It was possible that other magic had been cast. Maybe the old woman had attempted to hold the demon off while Kagome escaped. But if that was so, why hadn't the demon followed Kagome once it finished off the old woman? Why had the demon attacked the old woman in the first place? Inuyasha shook his head in frustration, none of this made sense, and he didn't have time to puzzle it all out. His first priority right now was Kagome, he had to find her and get her to safety before nightfall when he would become completely human.  
  
  
  
He raced along the increasingly obvious trail that Kagome had made as she ran. Blurred footprints, deep at the toe with almost no heel, carelessly broken branches and scattered leaves, even a human would have no difficult following such a trail. The gaps between the prints were considerable, she'd been running, running away from something. The demon probably. It was quite an impressive distance for a human. The residual scent of fear lingered in the air, he wished the rain had washed it away. He ran faster, anger widening and quickening his strides. After tonight he'd find whoever had done this to Kagome. He didn't know why they hadn't followed her, but after he made sure that Kagome was safe, he'd come back for them.   
  
There was a clearing up ahead. The golden light of the afternoon sun glowed through the new spring leaves and everything had that eerily still, fake quality that only happens after a rain, as if everything was too clean, too perfect to be real. There was a light  
  
breeze, it whispered through the higher branches of the trees, and they sighed gently. Inuyasha stood frozen at the entrance to the clearing. The leaves cast light gray shadows on his long snowy white hair. It was a true white, no yellow or blue undertones like most. There was something, someone lying against a tree up ahead. Kagome. Kagome!!! Time froze and sped up at the same time. He wasn't sure what happened between now and then, the next thing he knew, Kagome was in his arms and he'd buried his face in her thick black hair. It smelled like her, like flowers, fragile and sweet and  
  
beautiful. It was still slightly damp from the rain, that must be why his cheeks were wet. Kagome's clothes were wet too in fact and she was so cold. The smooth, soft skin of her face where it touched his was the same slightly chilly temperature as the breeze that blew at her hair, blew strands of it across his lips. He raised a hand to brush the fine black strands away, but somehow it ended up tracing the delicate line of her smoothly rounded jaw, it could be so stubborn at times. Just like her to go to sleep under a tree while he was killing himself worrying over where she was. She must be really tired from having run so far if she hadn't woken up even after he'd screamed her name and picked her up. Picked her up? Inuyasha realized that he was holding her on his lap, one arm around her  
  
slender waist with the fingers of his hand splayed out across her back to support it. Her shoulder pressed into his chest, her thick, curly blue- black hair mixed with the long, silky white strands of his. His other hand cupped her neck and supported her head, her lips were inches from his, he was holding her as if she were his lover. He blushed a deep shade of red and hastily put more distance between them. It was a good thing she hadn't woken up, she'd think he'd gone insane.  
  
Inuyasha leaned his head back a bit and looked at her. Her skin was almost as white as his was, but it had a blue undertone, and her features seemed more fragile than normal, maybe she was thinner. Her thick black lashes almost hid the pale blue-lavender  
  
shadows that were below her closed eyes. Inuyasha's hands tightened on her shoulders, she looked so helpless and delicate, he wanted to pick her back up and not let go. Ever. It must be the altitude, he needed to get ahold of himself and get her to safety before  
  
nightfall. He gently cupped one hand against the side of her face, raising it so that the sun shone across it. "Kagome. . .Kagome" he whispered, softly at first, but then more loudly when she didn't awaken. "Kagome!" he shook her slightly, she'd never been such a heavy sleeper before, why wouldn't she wake up? "Kagome?!! KAGOME!!" he was shouting now, and she still wouldn't wake up. Starting to panic, he leaned closer, cold seemed to radiate from her. He pressed a hand to the pulse at the base of her throat, or to  
  
where it should be, he couldn't seem to find it. Humans did have pulses there, didn't they? He must be getting them confused with demons, that was it. Only, her chest wasn't moving either, and she was so cold and pale. "KAGOME!!  
  
KAGOOOOOMEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" The wind blew harder now, and the sound  
  
the branches made as they scraped together was louder, angrier. The sun continued to shine as it followed its descending arc across the sky, but the wind robbed its rays of their  
  
warmth and only light was left. Kagome's beautiful, motionless body clutched in Inuyasha's arms, his face raised, tears caught the light like diamonds, flashing for an instant before falling. His snow white hair blew across her blue white skin and entangled itself in her wavy, blacker-than- night tresses. Black on white, both glowing in the  
  
sunlight.  
  
End 


End file.
